Women as landlords and flippers

[Amy Batten]

This one is for the ladies! I’m a newbie, and I’m looking for input from other women on hurdles they have faced in the industry. What have you done to overcome them? I love connecting with other women and empowering each other. One of my big business goals is to help empower other women to also get started in RE investing.

[Linda Weygant]

Originally posted by @Amy Batten:

This one is for the ladies! I’m a newbie, and I’m looking for input from other women on hurdles they have faced in the industry. What have you done to overcome them?

I love connecting with other women and empowering each other. One of my big business goals is to help empower other women to also get started in RE investing.

Hi Amy,

We all face hurdles, but there are a few that are specific to being a woman.

For my first deal, I had a mortgage broker that wanted to explain to me how APRs work, how a mortgage payment includes escrow and other very basic financial concepts.  I reminded him several times that not only am I a CPA, but I also worked (at the time) as a Financial Analyst for a publicly held firm.  I assure him over and over that he could just talk about the mortgage product and not pause to explain everything and that I would ask questions if I was unsure on a something.

This happened 3 or 4 times.  Each time after the first time, I would interrupt him and say "no need to explain that, please move on" and he would reply with "oh, that's right - I forgot - you're such a smart girl" or "oh!  Right!  My Smart Girl Client".

Let me explain that I was 45 years old at the time and nowhere close to a girl.

We were 12 days out from closing when he pulled it again.  I hung up on him, called my real estate agent and told him to get me a new mortgage broker.  He did.  I told the new mortgage broker what I was up against and asked him if he could close in 11 days.  He said he could and he did.  I have since done something on the order of 5 or 6 mortgage with him.  The original broker is apparently selling used cars now after my agent told the story of how I was treated in an all-hands meeting later that month.

The other hurdles I have personally run up against (as a woman)

1.  The appliance salesman trying to sell me on color instead of quality.  Then asking if my husband needed to approve my decision.

2.  Contractors treating me like an idiot.  While I don't know everything about my HVAC system, I do know what the thermostat does, thankyouverymuch.

Basically, the main issue that we face as women in an industry that is dominated by men is that we are very frequently pushed aside, particularly if we have a male partner.  We are treated like we are flighty, stupid, fiscally uninformed (oooo....you sure you can afford this sweetie?) and have little to no understanding how a house is put together, how to calculate financing or really how to do much of anything.

I solve that problem the same way others of you have - I fire people who treat me like that and move on.  Occasionally I leave a scathing Yelp review if I really feel like they deserve it.  I'm to the point now where I have built an amazing, smart, customer service oriented team from partners to bankers to contractors.  They all, without fail, assume I am knowledgeable until I tell them I'm not.

Successful business people know what they don't know and fill in the gaps with people who do.  "Team" members who treat me like an idiot from the outset, simply because of my genitals, are much the poorer for it.