Balancing Parenthood and Family While Building a 100-Unit Portfolio with Erin Helle

Erin Helle: [0:00] What I've kinda learned is like everybody expects certain things from you. Everybody wants you to have something, including like my own mom. And finally, like, letting go of what everyone else expected of me is what has allowed me to, like, really let my business scale and become who I'm most comfortable and content being.

Speaker 2: [0:21] Welcome to the collecting keys podcast. The show where you'll learn how to use real estate to create massive income, not just passive income. Real estate doesn't have to be a get rich slogan. Listen to the country's top real estate operators, and you'll have all the tools you need to replace your w two income and go beyond in under twelve months. Ready to take things to the next level? Let's jump in with our hosts, Mike DeHaan and Dan Austin for today's episode of the collecting keys podcast.

Mike DeHaan: [1:01] What is going on guys? On today's episode of the collecting keys podcast, we have Aaron Helly, and it was such an awesome show. I just loved how it all came together and the stuff that we dove into on this. So first off, Dan wasn't on the show. He wasn't able to make the recording. So it's just me and Aaron talking back and forth. But we really get into so many different parts of her life and how she scales her business. And we focus a lot on how she balanced growing a rent real estate portfolio up to over 100 doors. Also a balancing being a mom, you know, raising kids, she was talking about doing renovations while she was pregnant. She's built out a realtor business, like a retail business as an agent. She's done so many different things in only five years. And the thing that I love about how she was into it is she kinda like shifts away from some of the traditional views, I guess, or at the popular views that have become so huge right now about how everything needs to be 100% family or 100% work. And she's talks about how she's mixed it all together in a way that has made for made it possible for her to live a really sort of all around awesome life. And I just love the way that she's approached this kind of like the different facets of things. And it's a really, really fascinating story.

Mike DeHaan: [2:17] And, you know, kind of as we get into the end of it, one of other things that's super cool too is she talks about how the 100 doors that she's been able to accumulate, she didn't do anything crazy for him. She just like talks about her really basic model for finding all of these properties. And it's super repeatable. And if you can't do exactly what she's done, I don't know what to tell you because it is literally as simple as could possibly get. So make sure you listen for the end there because it's some really awesome knowledge bombs. Anyways, guys, please make sure that you reach out to her if you find her show enticing and interesting and you, you know, wanna connect with her more. That's why people come on and do these shows is because they want you to engage with them. Right? So don't be afraid to do that. And if you have anyone who's interested in real estate, you know, being a mom, learning how to mix family life with business, this is a really awesome episode to share with that person. It's the easiest way for us to grow the show is you share with them. So I'm sure you have someone in your circle who would be interested in that subject matter, and you should definitely share the show with them. Besides that, guys, it's a really awesome one today. Enjoy the show with Aaron Helly. Alright.

Mike DeHaan: [3:17] We are here today with Aaron Helly based out of New York, and you are a long term hold investor. You've done some wholesale deals. You have a YouTube channel, you were just telling me about the event that you were putting on in Las Vegas. You're expecting hundreds of people to come to you. You have a whole bunch of stuff going on. So I'm super excited to have you on the show. You were referred by a previous guest that we've had, Shelby Johnson on the show. And super excited just to hear what you have going on and how you got into so many different things in the real estate world. Because they were happened really quick too. Think you've only been doing this for a couple years. Is that right?

Erin Helle: [3:51] Yeah. And that's a total of five years now, and I've done a lot of things. And I think that's a lesson a lot of people can learn is try to stay focused because you achieve Yeah. Success quicker and more productively when you do it. And I've learned that the hard way and still continue to go down those rabbit holes occasionally.

Mike DeHaan: [4:12] Well, that's alright. It keeps things interesting, you know. And and after a while, once you have a little bit of financial stability, you can have that flexibility to try different stuff. Right? Yeah. So no. So that that's cool, though. So let's let's start, I guess, from the the beginning. I guess, you've been relatively recent for you into real estate, but what were you doing before that, and how did real estate come onto your radar? So

Erin Helle: [4:33] I was in the army for my entire adult life until I was about 30, and I thought I'd stay in the military forever. My husband is still in, so we were both active duty at the same time. We had our first kid, and we knew my days were numbered. We just knew it was gonna be a challenge for us to both continue our career and have a family and stay together. Right? Like, you it's doable. Our branches didn't really overlap, so we were able to really keep our career on the same path. And so we knew if the only way we could continue our careers until twenty years would be if we committed to spending some time apart. And it just wasn't really an option for us. And we didn't realize, like, how quickly my career was gonna end because after I had my first daughter, we both got put on deployment orders. He was gonna go to Iraq. I was gonna go to Afghanistan when she was six months old.

Mike DeHaan: [5:25] Oh, jeez.

Erin Helle: [5:26] And, yeah, I just couldn't even fathom leaving her. Like, it was hard enough for me to take her to daycare. So I did not owe the army anything. I completed my service obligation. He did owe a little bit for some school that he went to. So I submitted my request for resignation, and I got out like, five months later, which is a crazy quick turnaround for that type of a transition. Usually, it takes it takes, like, eighteen months to retire. It takes, like, typically a year to get out of the military, and I did it in five months with a newborn and a deployed husband, and it was just a whirlwind. And I didn't even have a chance to really process what I was doing or what I wanted to do next. And I started looking at, like, full time employment options. I was looking a lot into project management because it really kind of overlapped with what I did in the military, what I was qualified to do. But when I really, like, looked at the options between, like, an hour commute each way, and we knew we wanted to have more kids. And I just couldn't see how I could do that and continue to build my family while my husband was deployed and, you know, still moving with the military anytime they ask us to move. So I said, you know, I can be a stay at home mom and just sort of buy my time until they go to school, and it'll be fine. And it was not fine.

Erin Helle: [6:47] I had a really, really hard time with it. I was a terrible stay at home mom. Luckily, daughter was an infant. Like, she, you know, couldn't even talk, but I just didn't enjoy it. I wasn't engaged with her in a way that I am now. And I just, you know, kinda went through this period of, like, no self worth, no purpose, no network. I think that was the biggest thing I lost. I lost my network overnight. And I went from staying hanging out with, like, all these professional military minded people to suddenly staying out with a bunch of stay at home moms who wanted to homeschool, and I just felt inadequate. I just felt like I was didn't feel like I was made to do that. And I just instead of, like, realizing I have other options, I just sort of felt guilty about it for a long time. And I I considered investing well, I considered, I think, flipping more than anything because I just was intrigued by construction. I'd always been around construction as a kid. My family owns construction companies. And so I think that's what drew me to it initially. So fast forward to like one of my first deals. I essentially flipped a house myself. I was pregnant with my second child. Ended up laying floors at eight months pregnant because I couldn't find someone else to do it in a timely manner. And I was like on this, yeah, this deadline of a due date.

Erin Helle: [8:06] I wanted the project to be done. So I ended up doing a ton of the work myself. One for a couple reasons. I didn't have a team. I didn't have enough money. I didn't realize that contractors weren't just gonna come out the next day and finish the job in three days. They're like, yeah, we'll put you on the agenda for ten weeks from now. So I just didn't have that kind of time. So anyway, learned a ton through that. And what I realized in that process, I did enjoy it. I do enjoy working with my hands, and I like flips. But the way that I did that one isn't really scalable. And so I started looking into other things and realized that there's so much more to real estate and kind of pursued anything and everything I could. Tried, like, all the different strategies. I've done flips, have done burs, have done turnkey, and I kind of learned in this process. We own almost a 100 doors now. There was actually, like, couple days where we owned over a 100 doors. We closed on eight units and then, like, two days later closed on five. So I think we're down to, like, 97 doors. But, anyway, pursuing a bunch of different strategies, and we're now kind of really comfortable with the long term buy and hold, you know, long term tenants.

Erin Helle: [9:12] Not a big fan of the short term rental model. Not a big fan of the active flipping. Just like to buy and like to ride out the rentals.

Mike DeHaan: [9:20] Awesome. I love it. You just you covered a ton in there, so I wanna do a deep dive into into a couple things. But first off, if it's cool, I'd like to go back and talk about your situation with being a stay at home mom and coming to that realization because so I guess from my background, you know, I'm in my early thirties. My wife's 30. I've entertained the idea of having kids. We don't have any kids yet. But like the whole parenting thing, and just kind of like the, I don't know, general views around how you're supposed to do it is something that we struggle with, You know? And and what you're talking about right there, I appreciate you sharing that first off because I feel like there's such a reoccurring stigma that as a female, you should kinda like want to be a stay at home mom. There's so many women out there that that literally is their goal. But, you know, you're saying that obviously was not the case for you. So did you know that that you were gonna struggle with? Like, did you kinda like have a feeling? Or was that like a big shock once you sort of went down that path and you realized how much you struggled with?

Erin Helle: [10:22] I think it was more of a shock than I for the most part, I didn't really process it Yeah. Like any of it. And I think that I just sort of thought that, you know, my motherly instinct or, like Yeah. You know, who I was made to be. You know, I'm saying this, like, kind of facetiously because I've learned through this process through, you know, having kids and now raising two daughters. And especially we just moved away from Tennessee, so raising two daughters in the South. I'm from New York, so it's just sort of different. And what I've kinda learned is like everybody expects certain things from you. Everybody wants you to have something, including like my own

Mike DeHaan: [11:04] mom. Mhmm.

Erin Helle: [11:05] And finally, like, letting go of what everyone else expected of me is what has allowed me to, like, really let my business scale and become who I'm most comfortable and content being. And I feel really compelled to, like, having two little girls and showing them that they can do and be whoever they wanna be. Because I feel like my whole life, I've been told you're supposed to do this. You're supposed to want this. This is what you were made to do. And then I kept getting myself in situations where I was like, this just doesn't feel right. And, you know, even even motherhood, it's such an interesting, like, dichotomy. It's like, mom should wanna stay home and should enjoy being home with their kids. But then you do that, and everyone turns their nose down at you. Like, you're just a stay at home mom. You probably don't even have a high school diploma. And that's the way that they, you know, treat you. And being a military spouse is like a whole another element of that. You know, everyone just assumed that Yeah. You wait. I just stay home and do nothing all day, which I would love to be able to do that more than anything in the worldwide world. I think that women, the people who are able to stay home with their kids and enjoy it and are able to be present, I would do anything to be that person because I would love for my kids to have that, but it's just not who I am. And that's and I've learned that that's okay.

Mike DeHaan: [12:26] Yeah.

Erin Helle: [12:27] So, you know, kind of like buck that status quo. Like, whatever people are telling you life should look like as a parent or what you're supposed to do, none of it matters. What matters is that your kids see what makes you happy, and they see you build something that you care about. And that's what they're gonna you know, they're gonna grow up to be, like, secure, healthy adults, which I can't necessarily say I was as an like, my early thirties.

Mike DeHaan: [12:55] Yeah. Right. No. And I I mean and that makes sense. And, you know, I imagine there's a lot more women out there who share that same sort of viewpoint, but they don't feel like they can, you know, really express that. And I And especially in the the military world. So I I used to live outside JBLM in Tacoma. And there, you could always tell the the military wives who like being stay at home moms and ones who didn't. Because the ones who didn't would always be getting into, like, every pyramid scheme. They would always like have some sort of random hustle they'd be doing. They'd always be trying to organize stuff that didn't always make sense. Trying to give them some sort of purpose. Right? And I think that that's one way that it takes hold. And I think with younger people, so like people in their in their mid twenties, that sort of thing, what you're gonna start to see is more and more women not wanting to have kids, because they don't want to be given that, you know, I need to be like a fully present, you know, mom stigma image, right? Like they want more from their life than that. No, that's interesting. So I guess before we move on from that topic, what does your relationship look like with your kids now? Like, do you include them in your day to day work? Do they go to traditional school?

Mike DeHaan: [13:59] Like, what does that look like?

Erin Helle: [14:01] Yeah. So they they definitely go to school. I'm the last person who will ever be a a homeschool teacher just because it's not in my personality. But my little one is in she's going to preschool every day, but just for half day. And then my oldest is I have two girls. My oldest is seven. So she's going into second grade. She actually starts tomorrow. But I involve them. So they're actually on the payroll. They each work ten hours a week for me. And what that looks like right now is you can't see it in my office, but I have, like, lanyards all over the place for my next event. And they've been putting them together for me. Like, they stick the name tag in there, and they attach it. It's all color coded based on, like, VIPs and the team. And they've been doing that, and they really enjoy doing it. They've taken a ton of pride in it. And every time someone comes over, they, like, show them all these lanyards that they make. So it's cool to see them excel in that sort of with responsibility. And so I love that I'm able to challenge them and bring them along with me in that sense. And then I just try to share with them as much as I can about how what I'm doing is building something for their future. It's something that they can have, and they don't get it at all.

Mike DeHaan: [15:12] Yeah.

Erin Helle: [15:12] But, you know, I think they do see me working on this by myself, for myself. And I emphasize to them all the time because they'll be like, you're on another phone call, or do you really have to do another meeting? And I'm like, babe, this is what pays for a Disney trip. This is what lets us go on a Disney cruise. Like, some people can't do this ever, and we do it every year. Like and so I emphasize that to them. And we've had conversations about it, and I I will just ask them, like, would you rather that I'd stayed at home and just was there with you all the time? Or, you know, I keep doing this, and then we we can go to Starbucks. And there's a Starbucks, like, half a mile from my house, and I'm ashamed to say that we go, like, three times a week. And my kids go to Starbucks, you know, which kinda bugs me. It's just but it's just a convenience thing. But they'll say all the time, they're like, we would rather that you work so we can have these experiences and do these fun things. And so I think it's just important to have like, be open and honest and have those conversations because I, like, learn so much through them and just hearing their perspective, it's interesting.

Mike DeHaan: [16:17] Yeah. That's awesome. And and I love that. I mean, one of my very unpopular opinions probably is that I do think we will have a generation with its own kind of issues from this massive increase in the ever present parents that we have right now. There's so many people that are my age, that have kids or having young kids, and they're obsessed with being available twenty four seven for their kids. And I understand the reasoning behind that, or what they think, why they think it's a good idea, but in my mind, you're just gonna end up with these kids that are fully dependent on you. And one of one of the things that really bothers me is when you see like, this it's like always like on a billboard. It's a quote that gets passed on social media all the time. It's like, no one will remember you in twenty years, no one will remember you working nights except for your kids. And I'm like, I mean, I guess if you do it every single day, but if you do it for like once a week, or you do it for like a quarter out of that entire twenty year span, but that allows you to have a whole different life for your family, they're also gonna be able to acknowledge that. Even though maybe when they're five, they don't understand. When they're 12, 13, 15, that's going to instill a level of discipline that they are going to be able to see and work ethic. Whereas if you're just always available to go to every single baseball practice, it just doesn't make sense to me. Yeah. I don't know.

Mike DeHaan: [17:37] People will die on that hill arguing with me on that.

Erin Helle: [17:39] So Yeah.

Mike DeHaan: [17:40] I try to stay away from that most of the time.

Erin Helle: [17:41] Yeah. But you know what? This is I think the way you gotta look at it is like, I totally see that too. And I think I think this like the kids that are my kids age will be more secure emotionally. But you're right. Like, I I have a bunch of, like, mommy's helpers that come over. They're, like, 13 and 14 year old girls who, no joke, cannot make a box of mac and cheese. Like, I have to teach them how to make a box of mac and cheese. And interestingly, like, my seven year old will have to help them with it. She can do it better than they can. And I blame her parents. Right? Like, they're, like, too dependent on their parents. Like, your your 13 year old needs to be able to make themselves a box of mac and cheese. But, anyway, I agree. But I think that so I come from a family who so my husband and I ended up in the same place. Right? Like, both we both went to West Point. We both out of high school. We both served in the military, but our upbringings couldn't have been more different. He his parents went to every single sporting event. His parents were super there, super present, and mine were not at all. And he went to a public like, one of the worst public schools in the country, and I went to one of the top private schools in New York State, which is pretty good for schools. And so but we ended up in the same place, and we still have right? Like, we still have issues.

Erin Helle: [18:58] Like, they're different issues, but we still have issues. And so I think my sister reminds me of this all the time. She's a social worker. She's like, you are gonna mess your kids up no matter what. So, you know, let that guilt go. Like, everyone has their own issues that they deal with. Like, she's like, just accept that now and just be who you you want to be as a parent. And I've always, like, kind of found comfort in that. Like, I'll have times where I I feel like I'm overly, like, available for my kids, and then other times where I'm like, I feel like I need to just go stare at a wall for an hour, and I my kid is screaming, and I can't even engage, and then I feel guilty for that. But, I mean, we're human. Right?

Mike DeHaan: [19:35] Like Yeah.

Erin Helle: [19:36] It is what it is.

Mike DeHaan: [19:38] Yeah. Love it. And lots of lots of family talk on the collecting keys podcast and Christopher. I appreciate you diving into that with me.

Erin Helle: [19:44] I do bring it up. Like you said, you know, you don't hear about it a lot. I think a lot of women, particularly women feel this way. And I think we just we do not talk about it enough. We don't. Like, every time I bring it up, people are like, thank you so much for bringing it up. And that's why I do because this is something I struggle with every single day. And the more I talk about it, the more I see everyone else is struggling with it. And it might not make it easier. It might not make it better, but it is nice to know that we're not alone.

Mike DeHaan: [20:10] Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that's a big thing as you sort of get into the public sphere. You start doing these different podcast, podcast events. You very quickly realize that so many people are similar just with their life circumstances and those sort of things and what they're trying to figure out. Even though it can feel like you're alone when you're going through stuff, not the case. Really. Awesome. So let's let's dive back into your real estate. So you started this not that long ago, and you got up to over a 100 doors. Like, that's pretty rad. So what was that process like? I mean, first off, how were you finding and funding all of these properties?

Erin Helle: [20:45] Well, finding deals when I first got started was was so easy Yeah. Compared to how it is now. And I know a lot of, like, aspiring investors that are just struggling right now with interest rates and availability of deals and Mhmm. Just sort of this, like, trepidatious attitude about investing in general. It wasn't like that when I got started. And so I didn't realize, one, that I lived in a great investor market in Clarksville, Tennessee, and two, just how great of a time it was to invest. So I had all those things working in my favor. And honestly, like, I think I came into it from such a place of, like, struggle of, like, just feeling inadequate and unworthy that, like, I was like, I'm gonna commit to this, and I am not I'm just worth using to quit. And it was that, like, ruthlessness that just let me achieve the success that I was able to, like, continually scale it. I remember, like, at the beginning of COVID, I was under this renovation, really expensive flip in Nashville in a really affluent neighborhood in Nashville. And my contractor just did terrible job. I didn't really know because I was living in California, and it was just a nightmare. I thought it was gonna be the end. I just couldn't like, I had nothing left. Like, no more money to cover the $4,800 mortgage payment.

Erin Helle: [22:03] And I was just so stressed out. And I finally got through that property, I sold it somehow. Like, was able to float myself and not lose anything because of it. And I just learned through that process and sort of every single struggle that I've come to so far is like, you can't learn in that same way, like, until you go through those struggles. That is where the true learning happens. And once you overcome those challenges, like, I now know there's not a single deal that's gonna deter me from closing, like or from making the right decision for me and my portfolio just because of the experiences that I've had. And even if I do make a bad investment, which of course I do, I I invested with like an automation company about a year and a half ago. I gave them $50 for a truck, an 18 wheeler, and then they just declared bankruptcy.

Mike DeHaan: [22:50] Oh, jeez.

Erin Helle: [22:51] So I'll see that $50. So I lost that money. Right? And a couple years ago, I would have been devastated.

Mike DeHaan: [22:57] Yeah.

Erin Helle: [22:58] But when I was closing that deal and signing the paperwork, had this kinda bad feeling about it, and I'm like, should have trusted my gut. And that's sort of something that I keep learning over and over again is, like, your gut tells you something for a reason, and I've continually make that same mistake. But I feel like I'm getting a little bit better every time. And, like, you do lose stuff. You do lose on certain investments. It's risky. You can't win everything. You can't win them all. But I think that the more volume you have and the more experience, you just keep getting better and better at it, and it just keeps scaling. You can't really explain how it happens.

Mike DeHaan: [23:34] Yeah. Yeah. So I guess your your primary lead source though then, it sounds like is it mostly on the market? Is that you asked where you've been finding stuff, or you've been doing direct to seller stuff too?

Erin Helle: [23:42] Yeah. When I started, it was mostly on market deals. Actually, you know, most of my investments throughout the years have been MLS deals. And I'm a realtor, and I have a team of realtors. And a lot of them some of them are like wholesalers as well. So honestly, get deals from everywhere. I've gotten deals from my private money lenders. I think it's just important that whatever you're trying to do, you share that with everybody. You share it with your friends, your family, your spouse, your sister, and all of your professional contacts. Because suddenly, we call it manifestation. It just sort of starts coming to fruition. But like, the more you talk about it and the more you put it out there, the more you're opening your eyes to those opportunities and those possibilities. You know, they're just all over the place. So honestly, like, can't tell you where they all came from, but like, everywhere. Literally everywhere. Like, sometimes they'll just show up to my inbox from a wholesaler. I'm like, never heard of this guy. No clue where he got my email. Other times, I just randomly see something on Zillow some one night when I'm just, like, sitting on the couch. And there's times where I'm like, man, I didn't even know I was looking for this.

Erin Helle: [24:45] Or I'll say, like, I suddenly have this idea for something in my head, and then I just see it everywhere. So

Mike DeHaan: [24:52] Yeah. Nice. So no. That that's awesome. So be a great buyer for wholesalers that are out there that are listening to this. You know? This is the kind of person that you want to be buying your properties. Right? And it's funny because that's one of the biggest questions that we get with wholesalers that come on this show is how do I find good buyers? And that's a lot of the same principles. And if you can find someone like you in that market, you're a great person to sell properties to. So that's awesome. So, you know, does networking affect? That's that's super effective way to start finding deals. How did you pay for all of them though? Because like, I guess, what's the makeup of your all your doors? Do you have like a big multifamily in there that's pumping up the numbers, or is it all a bunch of single families?

Erin Helle: [25:32] No. I think we've got a 10 unit and a 12 unit. Otherwise, it's all a bunch of small multi family, two duplexes. So we still have a handful of single family homes. The only reason we haven't sold them is because the interest rates are ridiculous, like twos and So once the rates come back down, we might consider selling those. But, yeah, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, that's kind of where I feel most comfortable. And then in terms of funding, honestly, like, I've never done a sub two deal, but I've done a couple seller financing deals. I self directed my IRA. Both of them have a Roth and a traditional IRA. My husband has a Roth IRA. All of those are self directed and invested in syndications.

Mike DeHaan: [26:18] Okay.

Erin Helle: [26:19] So we just are, you know, essentially like a limited partner in a five unit or a 12 unit, stuff like that. And then but the rest of them, I've done a couple burr deals. And the way that I do my burs is hard money on the front side, refinance it with private money because we're pretty limited to private money at this point.

Mike DeHaan: [26:39] Mhmm.

Erin Helle: [26:39] And then the rest of them, just do 20% down with 25% down with private money. And that's kinda where I just actually had a conversation today with an aspiring investor who wants to get away from partners. She's ready to just scale on her own. And she said, I told her, like, I exclusively use private money. And then because I don't have the typical income. My tax return is like bananas as is hers because she's a notary and has a couple other businesses. But I really like private money because it's just sort of has this impersonal element. It's very unemotional. It's the underwriting has to do with the property and the performance of the property. And then I don't need partners to take it down, and then I don't have to ask somebody, you know, when the property manager calls and says, the toilet's running. Do you wanna replace it or repair it? I just make the decision on my own. I don't have to rent by anybody. I don't have to, like, validate anybody's long term plan. Like, it's just I that's where I like to be, on my own, making my own decisions. And and our philosophy is always, like, our being me and mine, my husband's, always just add value to the property. Like, we don't plan on selling anything ever unless we have to or have a great opportunity elsewhere. So we always wanna improve rather than just, you know, slap some duct tape on it.

Mike DeHaan: [28:00] Mhmm. Yeah. That's good old fashioned real estate right there. That's always been our MO too is to buy stuff with that value add potential. And then it allows you to actually do bird deals. Right? It's not always just about having to find turnkey properties at a discount, which a lot of people try to do. And I appreciate you sharing that comment about private money as well because this is one of the biggest, I would say, positions that newer investors come in with that I think is a bad place to be, where they think that they need to bring in these partners on everything, because they don't wanna get loans, don't wanna do whatever. And I think it's because they feel like it's less scary if they have a quote unquote partner. So what they'll do is they'll find a person that has money that'll fund the deal for them, and they're like, yeah, we're gonna split it fifty fifty. It's like, that's really expensive money. Right. Like, honestly, if you look at it. You can go find if you wanna get a second position loan for the down payment, find someone that you're gonna pay a fixed interest rate or something on that. But other than that, go get private money or get a hard money loan because you're going to increase your net worth so much, and you're gonna be the 100% owner.

Mike DeHaan: [29:01] You're not gonna have someone who feels like they owned you because they funded this whole deal and they're a 50% And when I hear about that, it always seems to be with younger investors. I'm pretty sure it's because, like, there's some savvy folks with money that are just trying to take advantage of the young guys out there. But it's such a reoccurring pattern that comes up over and over and over again, and it's a really dangerous place for people to get started.

Erin Helle: [29:24] Yeah. Well, and it's the podcast too. Like, lot of these podcasts are like, the headlines are like, you know, newbie investor buys 200 doors in their first year. Yeah. And, like, that's, like, the sexy stuff. Right? And so people think that that's the way to scale. And that is the way that I did it. I did 18 doors in my or 19 doors in my first eighteen months, And that was, like, the headline of all the podcasts at the time. Right? And what I learned though is when people get into crazy situations, they get desperate, and they do crazy stuff. And I am to the point now in my life where, you know, as a mom to two kids, like, I don't want to be involved in other people's shit. You know? I don't wanna be involved in their trauma and their financial stresses. And so I just have removed myself from it. So, you know, for me it was like a means to an end, and it did work. But I think back to what you were saying about being a good buyer for a wholesaler, but then also the private money thing, I think we tend, as people, to just overcomplicate everything, and we're always talking about these systems and these processes. But real estate is so ridiculously simple. It's figure out what your goal is, find a property that accommodates that, fund it, close it, repeat. Like, it is that simple.

Erin Helle: [30:43] And so if any of you add multiple steps to any of those steps, you're just adding more steps, which is just reducing your chances of getting to closing. It's just increasing your time, increasing your stress level, complicating everything, and it doesn't have to be that way. So I think this is like sort of the overarching theme with everything we're talking about. Once you figure out what you want for your life, manifest that into what a portfolio would look like. Like, here's your life plan. Here's how a portfolio can accommodate that. And then as soon as you find that deal, you make the offer, and you figure out how to close it. And that's what makes me a good buyer. And granted, I am the most, like, left brained logical person you'll probably ever meet. I I do not make emotional decisions, which is really good for business, not so great for my personal life. Yeah. But, you know, I think that if you don't naturally do that and you have a tendency to add emotion to it, then you either have to find yourself a mentor or, you know, a partner in some version that can help you make sure that what your, you know, your activity lines up with your goals. And I think that's where most people just get stuck and never make it past.

Mike DeHaan: [31:58] Yeah. Absolutely. So what do you say to the new investor that hears that and they say, well, Aaron, you know, that worked for you because you started back when it was easy, but now it's way too competitive and there's no way that I could ever do the same thing.

Erin Helle: [32:12] I'll just tell them, you know, I'm glad that people have that attitude because it's less competition for me.

Mike DeHaan: [32:17] There you go.

Erin Helle: [32:18] But the people the true investors did not stop investing. Nobody Mhmm. Nobody who was, like, investing well and doing a good job two years ago, three years ago just, like, suddenly sidelined themselves. Yeah. And I think anybody that says, oh, I'm not buying right now because of the market. Like, I'm super skeptical of them. Because if you believe in real estate, like, the concept of that is irrelevant to market cycles.

Mike DeHaan: [32:43] Mhmm.

Erin Helle: [32:44] Right? Like, you believe, like, you just now is the time to buy. You're right. It is more competitive, and it is harder. There's just less inventory, and there's less money. But there's also significantly less competition because so many investors have sidelined themselves and told themselves now is not the right time to buy. So I'm like, I'll just tell them like it is. Like, oh, good for you. I'll buy up your share then.

Mike DeHaan: [33:05] Yeah. I love it. And it's always such a funny thing. So we have our our instant investor coaching program that we do, like our group mastermind. And people inquire about it, and they always say like, so what do you guys do that's different that makes you your system better? And I say nothing. We do jump shot and bounce pass basketball. We do the most basic game. We just do it with consistency and with scale. And as a result, it's turned into something that we do better than everybody else just because we've been doing it for longer the same way. And what I always warn people is, if you're gonna get into this business, you know, don't get cute. Anyone that tells you that they have, like, some fancy new secret thing that's gonna make it so much better, they're literally just trying to take your money, and they have no track record of success. That's why they're trying to sell you on something that sounds too good to be true because there probably is.

Erin Helle: [33:51] It is. But so

Mike DeHaan: [33:52] many people just look right past that. Yeah. So that's awesome. That's good stuff, Erin. Let's talk about this event that you're putting on or I guess this other I mean, is this like another business that you're doing as well on top of the real estate or is this just like a one time event that you're putting on right now?

Erin Helle: [34:06] No. So it's the probably the first of an annual event. So I've done a couple of different conferences. The first one I did was for women about three years ago. I just did a women's investor conference because there was none. There weren't any that existed. There's more now. There's a lot of virtual ones too, which I think is awesome. But getting all these women in the same room and realizing, like, we're all struggling with the same stuff. Like, we're all going through the same thing. And, like, the camaraderie that came out of that and the vibe in the room was life changing. And, you know, I'm sure for them, but, like, for me, it changed my life. And so I love love to bring people together for meetups. I do a investor meetup. I did it on a monthly basis monthly basis in Tennessee. I haven't set it up here in New York yet, but I just you know, I never made any money off of that per se. But it's a great way to continue to build their network, a great way for me as a realtor to find other realtors to join my team, buyers and sellers and stuff like that. So anyway, this event, this one, I had this idea a long time ago, and I just was kind of too afraid to put it in place because there's a couple other events that are kind of like it. And I was afraid that people were gonna think that I was trying to, like, steal their audience or steal their concept. But I went to a lot of these other events.

Erin Helle: [35:27] So they're military events. They're for veterans, active duty military people. I just felt like so many of them missed the mark. Like, one of them, it was just a total pitchfest. Like, the whole entire time, it was just listening to these sponsors share their products. And this other time, it was like a smaller one, and I feel like all the attendees were there to do nothing more than like get you to invest in their product. And it just left a really bad taste in my mouth. So I was like, I wanna set up an event, an educational event for investors looking to get started or looking to scale. And I wanna teach them how to, like, develop an attitude of abundance. I think that's step one. It's like, get your mind right, get ready to set some big goals, and then let's spend the rest of the weekend putting those goals into action and coming up with a blueprint to go from where you are now to where you wanna be in x amount of time. And then just surround yourself with other people who are trying to do the same thing. We can all elevate ourselves together, and it'll be awesome. So that's what we're doing. We have some breakout sessions. We're doing all the strategies, single family investing, house hacking, multifamily, wholesaling, flipping, lending, all kinds of different stuff. Like any strategy you could pursue in real estate, we're gonna have a breakout session for it. We even set up like a scholarship program too for some veterans who couldn't afford the ticket. And it's in September in Las Vegas, and it's it's gonna be awesome. And it's been it's been a beast to put together, but I I've enjoyed it.

Erin Helle: [36:53] And I think that the event, now that we're we're, like, sixteen days out, I'm just, like, so excited to get out there and and just kinda hit it out of the park and be around people. I just am amazed at how you're like, my success just somehow continues to increase just by surrounding myself with other people who are successful. It's like unreal how that happens.

Mike DeHaan: [37:16] Yeah. Absolutely. And what's the event called? I don't think you said that in there.

Erin Helle: [37:20] It's called the Financial Freedom Summit.

Mike DeHaan: [37:22] Financial Freedom Summit. Awesome. I love it. That sounds cool, it'll hopefully be annual as well. So I think that by the time this episode comes out, that'll have already gone on, but you guys should definitely check it out for next year. Awesome. Well, lots of good stuff here, and I appreciate you coming on and sharing all this. Starting to wind down the show here. So we're going to go into our end of show questions, which are same with every show. And they give a little bit of an insight into some of the things that you've experienced as an investor, and also some guidance you have for other people. So first off, the number one question, which is always the show favorite is what is your craziest real estate investing story? And this can be a big win. It can be a big loss. It can be a crazy tenant. Can be a crazy transaction. Whatever you got.

Erin Helle: [38:05] Oh my gosh. I don't I have some I think every single transaction comes with a story. But I think the one that sticks out there's probably a handful of transactions I've had where I'm like, oh, well, that was easy. Yeah. But the one that sticks out I think is just when I was really super pregnant with my second kid and, like, literally, like, caulking a bathtub and laying vinyl plank on the floor. My first kid came early. She came three weeks early. And I thought my second one was going to too, and she didn't luckily. But, yeah, just having that, like, time pressure. And my contractors who I still work with to this day, so that was five years ago, they are doing a flip for me right now, bird for me right now. And they would shop every morning, and I think they just were afraid I was like gonna go into labor in the house like at any time. Every day they'd get there, they'd like, okay. You're still pregnant. Like, we're doing this.

Mike DeHaan: [38:54] Yeah. Right. That's awesome. That's pretty hardcore. That's like a great thing that you can talk to people that are afraid to get into it or worried about time or their own situation. Like, well, what's your excuse? You were probably in one of the most challenging states of human that you could be in to be tackling that. Did you have, like, renovation experience at that point, or were you just figuring it out while also being pregnant?

Erin Helle: [39:18] I was really just figuring it out. My dad had built a couple of his own homes, and he was an ironworker for years and years. So, like, he could do all of it, but he wasn't, like, licensed in Tennessee. We didn't know any of the code. Like, he ended up doing some of the electrical, and we were, like, just hoping that the inspector would pass us. But, yeah, anyway, we no. I had no experience. I and, I mean, granted a lot of it was easy. Like, we hired out. The plumbing was completely done, and then he did some of the electrical with the oversight of a licensed electrician. But then otherwise, it was, like, pretty cosmetic. And I learned I was like, oh, yeah. I'll paint this house myself. Three days later, like, trying to paint the ceiling. I'm like Worst. Worst. This is worth, like, $500 an hour. And so yeah. Huge learning curve.

Mike DeHaan: [40:02] That's so funny. Everyone when they start to tackle that, they have like that one task that they're like, I'm never doing that again. For me, it's painting for sure. I hate it. Totally painting. The first couple houses that we did, I had never used any sort of like power tool or never done any sort of work on a house ever. And then I decided I was gonna be a real estate investor. You know? And we're gonna like, oh, we're gonna renovate this house. And it was literally me and my wife, school of YouTube. It's like, oh, this is how you hang drywall. This is how you install a shower surround. Know? This is how you do all the things. And, you know, we just did it long enough to be able to get the process done, make some money off of it, and then we learned that it took us way longer and we'd be better off just hiring people then focusing So on the next

Erin Helle: [40:48] Yep.

Mike DeHaan: [40:49] No. That's awesome. Alright. So next question. What is the number one tip you would have for either a new investor looking to get started or a small time investor looking to take the business to the next level?

Erin Helle: [41:00] Yeah. Get really, really honest with yourself. Really, really clear on what your goals are, and then ruthlessly pursue them. Don't stop until you achieve them.

Mike DeHaan: [41:10] Yeah. Absolutely. That's a great one. Alright. And then last question. Where can people find you, follow you, and reach out to you if you like them to do so?

Erin Helle: [41:20] Yeah. So my website is bcglobalinvestments.com. The events are on bcglobalevents.com. And then I'm all over social media, the Erin Helle. On Facebook, I'm just at the Erin Helle. On Instagram, I think I'm at the Erin Helle underscore investor coach. And then on LinkedIn, it's just Erin Helle.

Mike DeHaan: [41:41] Perfect. Right on. And if you guys want to see those, you can see them down in the show notes here below the show. But Erin, thanks so much for coming on the show. I really appreciate it. You have a awesome story, and I appreciate the deep dive into family life as well. I think that's a that's an interesting topic that I'm excited to hear what the listeners think about that.

Erin Helle: [41:59] Yeah. Thank you so much for coming with me.

Mike DeHaan: [42:00] Awesome. Absolutely. So awesome, guys. Well, hopefully you enjoyed this show with Erin Helle, and if you didn't, I don't know what to tell you, because that was a great deep dive into a whole realm of real estate. And she is obviously an a player. You can tell by how she talks, the confidence about how she talks about the deals, and the nonchalant nature about she talks about the 100 plus doors that she owns. I mean, that doesn't happen without some real hard work and some real gusto. So go ahead and give her a follow. Believe it or not, people do these shows because they want you to reach out to them, and they want you to follow along with what they're doing. So don't be afraid to hop on Instagram, hop on her website, shoot her a little hello, let her know what you're doing, and I'm sure she would be happy to connect with you. And besides that, guys, please share this with anyone who might find this interesting. They have a slight interest in real estate investing business or anything else in between. This is definitely a great one for them to get started with collecting keys. And we appreciate you all. And we'll talk to you all next week.

Speaker 2: [42:56] For listening to collecting keys. Drop us a five star review on iTunes and send us a screenshot to Mike@collectingkeys.com for your chance to receive a free Keys t shirt.