All Forum Posts by: Rebekah Keller

I personally would buy 2 or 3 SF homes in Detroit, rehab them around $10k and BRRRR and repeat. Rent about ($850-$1000/mo) I know a few LA investors here now in Detroit doing this.

@Anthony Diggs

Your story sounds epic! Wow! I am inspired. Thank you for sharing. I would love to hear more!!

@Dominique Palmer

Awesome! So important to be exposed to it at a young age. Keep doing what you are doing. 

-Blessings!

@Danny Grey

Here are some honest questions because I want to understand:

Why are you assuming the motivation is guilt and atonement? Why can't the motivation be love?

Why are you disgusted with people attempting to show compassion? What is the alternative - Do and say nothing?

It seems like a lot of people on here are saying "it's not our fault. If someone wants to be rich, all they have to do is work hard." Insert the exception to the rule. Oprah, Ben Carson, etc. End of discussion. But in reality those are the EXCEPTIONS they prove the point, not disprove it. Those who think it's really just a matter of working hard...have not really looked into the problem. It seems that it is too ugly to admit our safe, tidy little world that is so good to us, could possibly be evil and so unfair to so many. That is why we say "everything has changed and there is no longer racism" Because if it really did exist then it would partially be OUR fault. We are the ones that are benefiting and like the world as it is. But discrimination is a problem. It isn't just about color, but in the US it does matter... I live in and bear the burdens of the impoverished black community in Detroit. There are so many obstacles against a black male. It's not about just working hard, it's about working 10x harder. The ghetto swallows you up, and no government or aid can overcome what you see on a daily basis. We are shaped by our environments. I came from a lower income, college educated, but stable home environment. That alone gave me great advantages.I had the basic building blocks, such as the ability to be a carefree child. I never saw people murdered. My uncles didn't go to prison. If you grow up so stressed out because of the horrors around you that you can't focus on school and you only are able to focus on surviving...that puts you at a great disadvantage. Formative years are 0-7. The amount of positive words you hear by age 5 determines your whole trajectory in life. It goes so deep and I think the start is to have compassion.  Maybe in the 1960's our country started to care about equality but we still have a long way to go. I am not saying hand-outs or reverse discrimination, dependence causes mental and financial slavery. Maybe compassion, conversation and friendship is where it starts. 

Some people totally deserve where they are because of their fixed mindset, laziness, pessimism, selfishness and bad ethics.... i totally agree, but we cannot look at a whole entire demographic who are suffering and think its their fault when we turn a blind eye to injustice.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

I have viewed many tenant occupied properties with horror, wondering how the landlord could get away with it. Stairs to basement broken, hot water tank not working for months, broken windows, one burner on the stove working, etc. I personally try to maintain and rehab my rentals to a quality that I would be content with. But sometimes I am tempted to overrehab. My contractors always tell me I am doing too much, and that renters don't care about such-and-such. What are some your non-negotiables and what are some things that you do NOT rehab unless you have to? 

LOL. NO its alot of work and I can't listen to my podcasts when i have little apprentices with power tools around. LOL. but my foster son says "I am gonna be a Real Estate Investor when I grow up"

I mentor at-risk youth in Detroit. I take them to my properties, take them with me when I collect rent. They see me collecting the money, I let them count it, hold it, feel it. I teach them skills like painting, caulking, changing doorknobs, pulling up staples, teach them to use power tools, put up signs, and then I pay them for their work. I think the best thing is to inspire the youth, show them THEY CAN. That the only difference is mindset. I really believe it has to be implanted at a young age. I pray in 10 years, all these young people see themselves in a position of prosperity and ownership, and entrepreneurship. 

I don't know how to fix racism, other than changing myself and acknowledging its a real problem, supporting black businesses, and speaking life and hope into those who have so much opposition in their future.

Age 36, My primary residence, 7 rental units - 3 duplexes and 1 SF. Two are section 8, the rest are working, blue collar renters.

Paid cash for all. Rehabbed them with shoddy contractors, my husband, my friends, children who I pay and teach the skills, and lots of blood, sweat, and tears. :-)

Ideally multi-family properties get more cashflow -- BUT i have noticed in my duplexes that none of my tenants like each other, and if there is a shared ANYTHING, like driveway, lawn, basement etc. they tend to have annoying, petty issues. 

Also on a SF, say 3-bed 1 bath 1000 sq. ft. the rehab is SO much less overwhelming! I have rehabbed 3 duplexes and 1 SF, and the SF is a breeze comparitively...and some of my investor friends agree with that. 

I have switched strategies to SF, bc I do a lot of the work myself and I can do it much more efficiently on an SF.