Steve Whetzel has tried real estate investing three different times over the last 30 years, and the first two attempts didn’t end the way he hoped.

On this episode, we look back at each chapter of his investing journey to see what went wrong, what went right, and whether it would have been possible to hold onto the properties instead of selling. Steve shares how each experience shaped the investor he is today.

Steve bought his first rental properties back in 1996, long before podcasts, YouTube channels, and online communities made real estate investing easier to learn. As a young entrepreneur, he figured things out on his own and quickly bought two properties. The investments were working, but he was also trying to grow a business and eventually realized he didn’t have the time or focus to do both. A few years later, he sold the properties and moved on.

About 15 years later, Steve decided to give investing another shot.

This time he bought five out-of-state rentals and found what looked like great opportunities. We talk about how he found the deals, and the painful experience of losing $20,000 to a contractor who disappeared with his money. Steve explains how he recovered from that setback, found a better contractor, and got things back on track.

 But life took another turn when he went through a divorce and suddenly found himself raising five kids as a single dad. With so much on his plate, he made the difficult decision to sell the properties again.

Now, Steve is back for a third attempt at investing, and this time things are different.

His kids are older, the timing in his life is better, and he’s focused on building a portfolio of out-of-state Airbnb properties. We talk about what he’s doing differently today, the lessons he learned from his previous failures, and why those earlier experiences may have been exactly what he needed to become a better investor now.

https://rentalincomepodcast.com/episode575

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