Kurt Buchert
Kurt Buchert has been a guest on Collecting Keys, the real estate investing podcast hosted by Mike DeHaan, Dan Austin and Dylan Koch.
Retired at 35 As A Virtual Landlord with Kurt Buchert
Kurt Buchert, a former financial advisor who built and sold a spray foam insulation business in post-Katrina New Orleans, explains how he reached financial independence and stopped working a job at 35. He walks through his current portfolio of 50-plus New Orleans duplexes and short-term rentals in the Florida Panhandle, and how he self-manages all of it remotely with video walkthroughs, Zillow ads and a long-standing network of subcontractors.
Key takeaways
- Buchert funded his rental purchases with profits from a blue-collar business, insulating about 3,000 New Orleans homes over six or seven years, and says bringing a white-collar business model (showing up on time, taking credit cards, answering customers) to a blue-collar trade let him charge a premium.
- He was financially free in his early thirties with roughly 18 units (nine duplexes) at low leverage with a couple paid off; low personal expenses before marriage and kids made that possible.
- To self-manage 50-plus units from four and a half hours away, he has existing tenants film an iPhone walkthrough, uploads it to YouTube, and refuses to show a unit until a prospect has driven by, watched the video, and says they're ready to sign and pay the deposit. He says this eliminates most tire kickers.
- He avoids third-party short-term rental management, arguing many managers charge 20-30% and under-price the units; he points to a friend who was fully booked three months out at rates roughly 40% below market as a sign of under-renting.