150: From Rebel to Real Estate Entrepreneur with Megan Ahern

Sometimes, the W-2 job isn’t an option, and you have to look for alternatives. When Megan Ahern’s husband was ready to exit the Marines, they knew they needed to look at alternate career paths. On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan interviews Megan Ahern, a rebel turned real estate investor who’s been steadily investing in Lincoln, Nebraska, since 2018 with her husband. When Jeff, Megan’s husband, was medically released from the Marines, they went all in on real estate investing. Together, they’ve had more than 80 units in and around Lincoln. Megan also owns a staging company, and they have experience investing in sober living homes. Jonathan and Megan open their conversation by exploring why Megan and her husband chose Lincoln, Nebraska, to invest and how she got her husband on the same page with investing. You’ll hear how they initially found properties, why using hard money eventually limited the size of the flips she could do, and how building relationships with local lenders helped expand the business. She shares the role of reputation and authenticity in her success, how they decide whether or not to keep a property, and what she loves about sober living properties. Megan explains why she’s looking for more mid-term rentals, her seven-plex nightmare property, and what drew her into the staging business. Finally, Jonathan and Megan cover why staging matters in flipping homes, her advice for new flippers, and how becoming a licensed agent helped their business. Megan is a seasoned flipper whose advice you won’t want to miss if flipping is on your radar. In this episode, you will hear: Megan Ahern’s start in real estate with her husband when he left the military Why they chose Lincoln, Nebraska, to invest The appeal of being a little fish in a little pond in a market like Lincoln Being on the same page with your spouse in real estate and why you have to have the same end goals in mind How they initially located properties and the size of the renovations they took on Megan’s use of hard money to flip homes and why it limited the size of the flips she could do Building relationships with local lenders to grow the real estate business The decisions small, local banks can make versus national banks The importance of reputation and authenticity in finding more deals How Megan and her husband decide whether or not to keep a property Her involvement with sober living and why she loves it Why she’s looking for more mid-term rental properties A bad multifamily purchase and why it’s deterring her from purchasing more Who Megan’s mid-term renters are and what they’re looking for in a property The importance of staging and how the business has changed since Megan began staging Where Megan puts her focus in her staging business, how she avoids warehousing a lot of items, and why it’s a vital part of flipping homes Megan’s advice for new investors who want to flip homes How being a licensed agent has impacted Megan’s success in real estate Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, we've created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at https://zenandtheartofrealestateinvesting.com/podcast/150/ to download it. Supporting Resources: Visit Megan Ahern’s website - tattyinvestor.com Connect with The Tatty Investor on Facebook - facebook.com/thetattyinvestor The Tatty Investor on Instagram - www.instagram.com/the_tatty_investor Website - www.streamlined.properties YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene Zillow - https://www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties Email - info@streamlined.properties Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.