Rob Rowsell
Rob Rowsell has been a guest on Collecting Keys, the real estate investing podcast hosted by Mike DeHaan, Dan Austin and Dylan Koch.
From Smoking Crack to Stacking Doors with Rob Rowsell
Rob Rowsell tells how he went from ten years of meth and crack addiction and homelessness to owning auto repair shops and roughly 1,500 multifamily units. He walks through buying his first auto repair business with no money down on seller financing, learning to flip and wholesale through Carleton Sheets and Rich Dad courses during the 2007-2009 downturn, and how he underwrites deals conservatively today. He also explains how he and his wife run the business as a team and shares the $10 car magnet that led to 72 units.
Key takeaways
- Rob bought his first auto repair shop for $150,000 with no money down: the seller financed $100,000 at 8% simple interest with 18 months to pay, his father financed $50,000, and Rob paid the seller off with a $100,000 check twelve months later.
- He rented out his own home rather than sell it when he moved for the business, giving him an active business and a rental at the same time.
- He learned flipping, probate and wholesaling by spending $500 on a three-day Rich Dad class and then $27,000 on the upsell, and started buying in 2007 when 'real estate was a dirty word.'
- In 2007 he underwrote flips at 10% below current value to account for a three-to-four-month resale window, and says he underwrites the same way today with conservative business plans and no bridge financing.