[00:00:00] Chandra Minter: Don’t get me wrong. Underwriting is a great career. You can make a good amount of money. But I felt, you know, this job in particular and this management team, the best. My co-workers, great people, like, the best people and company I had ever worked for. And I said, you know, I don’t think that I want to go forward with another company. I don’t think that I want to, I think this is the best that it’s going to get. And I think that I’d rather leave on my own terms and in a good situation then to be forced out into a not so great situation.

[00:01:34] Chandra Minter: If you’re just going to buy, I don’t know, a new purse. And one that doesn’t appreciate and value or something. No, don’t go out and get that 401k loan. But if you’re going to even, even in taking equity out of your property, if you’re taking equity out, because people look at well, I’m going to have to pay more a month. Possibly. Maybe your monthly payment goes up, but typically it doesn’t go up more than a hundred or $200. If you’re going to be offsetting that plus making more on top of that a month, it’s worth taking off the equity.

[00:02:09] Nicole Pendergrass: Oh, I’m glad you said all of that, because that, that was a mic drop. If people didn’t hear, like she said, she spent her money on her memory bank and then she also was spending money to make money. So she was able to spend money on her memory bank, because she spent money to make money first. You have to do that in the right order, you know, to set up those assets in a way where you can actually now have that freedom to go and do the things that you want to do.

[00:02:39] Nicole Pendergrass: And it’s not really coming out of your, your own pocket. It’s coming out of your investments are paying for those experiences. I love all of that. Okay. We could go into the weeds on this forever. ‘Cause I feel like the first time we talked, we talked for, I don’t know how many hours, like a couple, at least a couple, at least two. But let’s get to the next part of your story because now it kind of transitions drastically, right?

[00:03:03] Chandra Minter: So what happened next for you? So, I guess it’s a cautionary tale for employers because the six months that I spent at home or with my mom, you know, I was working on something completely different. I already had my properties at home that were under management. I didn’t have to worry about them. You know, I am figuring out that I really only have to dedicate so many hours of structured work time to my full-time job and still meet every milestone that I’m supposed to meet in a day and a month, et cetera.

[00:03:32] Chandra Minter: And I could take the rest of the hours and try to build a new business. So at the time I was working on Amazon, Amazon FBA, I was trying to do that by myself. It did okay. But, you know, turns out I just didn’t want to do that, but it got my, the wheels turning that, Hey, there’s probably something else out there for you.

[00:03:52] Chandra Minter: Don’t get me wrong. Underwriting is a great career. You can make a good amount of money. But I felt, you know, this job in particular and this management team, the best. My co-workers, great people, like, the best people and company I had ever worked for. And I said, you know, I don’t think that I want to go forward with another company. I don’t think that I want to, I think this is the best that it’s going to get. And I think that I’d rather leave on my own terms and in a good situation then to be forced out into a not so great situation. So when I got back and I was back in the office, I decided, like, on a Friday that I was going to write my resignation letter and that I was going to turn it in the following Friday.

[00:04:40] Chandra Minter: And that’s exactly what I did, come to find out the company was going to get bought out anyway. So I was given the option to just wait and receive my severance. So it worked out in my benefit, but like I said, I mean, I’m glad I had that thought process because a lot of people that went with the new company, weren’t happy there.

[00:05:00] Chandra Minter: It just wasn’t the same as what we were used to. with that, I just kind of quit with no idea of what I was going to do. At that time, I had already given up on Amazon and I just kept feeling that if I had time, if I didn’t have that eight hours a day or 40 hours a week taking up space in my brain, I could figure out what it was that I really wanted to do because, we go back to the beginning of my story, my goal in childhood was just to leave my hometown. So there, I had accomplished it, but I wasn’t, I never sat down and thought about what does Chandra really want to do? What is that thing that, you know, she would love to do and would do it for free for the rest of her life? I never knew what that was.

[00:05:44] Nicole Pendergrass: How old were you at this point?

[00:05:45] Chandra Minter: I was in my thirties. I was in my thirties. Early thirties. Yeah.

[00:05:48] Nicole Pendergrass: Okay.

[00:05:49] Chandra Minter: So, 2018 is when I took the leap. I tried to do wholesaling. I got one deal under my belt. It was a good deal, learned a lot from that transaction. All I can say about that is people out there who are wholesaling, just make sure that your firm with your numbers. Because the person on the other side that you’re selling it to can, can double sell it to someone else and make just as much or more than you. So, you know, just make sure that you are really tough on your numbers. But I felt, again, that didn’t work out for me because I had the whole thing. I had a VA, you know, she was making calls for me.

[00:06:32] Chandra Minter: I would then call back, schedule the appointment. And it just wasn’t the right thing for me. And the moment that I remember when I realized, you know, this isn’t for me is I called the guy and I got him on the phone. We were talking and, you know, I was saying everything I was supposed to say about let me buy your house and XYZ.

[00:06:48] Chandra Minter: And he was like, if I sell you my house, where am I supposed to live? And I said you you’re right. I don’t know. I’m going to, I’m going to take you off my list. I was not ready to be that type of sales person and I, you know, hats off to all of you wholesalers out there that can do it. I will buy houses from you forever. It’s just not for me. So after that, I realized that I was just tasting money and that wasn’t the reason that I left my job. So I started tapping into my real estate portfolio.

[00:07:19] Chandra Minter: I decided to get my license in 2019 and, and originally I wanted to just use it for my own properties. And I had put a property on the market, one of my prop rentals on the market and it just wasn’t getting, I was getting feedback that things were kind of awkward. So I had a friend in the investment world that said, Hey, just renovate it. Like, just flip it. Flipping it was like a, another four letter word to me. Like, I just don’t, I don’t want to do it. And after I did that one, it wasn’t much. I just rearranged some, some of the layout. It was kind of awkward. And once I did that, it was about, I spent maybe 12,000 and the return on that was 30,000.

[00:08:01] Chandra Minter: So I sold that property and was able to live off of that money for a while. Because I’m just still trying to figure things out. Along the way, I got a couple of clients investor clients that I helped sell a couple of homes. So there were things that were keeping me afloat, but again, I’m still not really figuring out what that thing is and that I really wanted to do.

[00:08:24] Chandra Minter: And I’m continuously just selling my homes off. One property I did sell with a tenant in it. I think I flipped two of them. Another one had appreciated enough in a year where all I had to do was just go in, clean some things up. And I was able to sell it for a $40,000 profit from the year prior.

[00:08:46] Chandra Minter: And mind you, I was receiving rent for a whole year before I sold it. So it was just a complete money maker. Up until let’s see, last year when I sold my, my primary resident because I was, I’m just like, okay, this has to be the last thing. Maybe the universe is going to give me my answer. Maybe it’s saying that I’m holding onto too much.

[00:09:07] Chandra Minter: I just have to let it go so I can get my answer. So I sold my property, my last property last year. And have been renting ever since. And I will tell you, I feel so free. Because honestly I was trying to, I was like, well, I just don’t think real estate is for me anymore. But the more and more that I’ve tried to back away from real estate, it’s like, it just kept trying to, was knocking the door down.

[00:09:29] Chandra Minter: So I do realize now that it’s going to be a part of my story moving forward, but the moment that it changed was when it kind of became the way I had to make money. When I first started buying rental properties, it was. It was like a, a rush. You just get a rush of adrenaline when you are out there looking for a property and you find it.

[00:09:51] Chandra Minter: And then you’re like, I need another one and I need another one. It was like, it was like my drug. It was my, my drug of choice. And then it just wasn’t the same anymore. Also because I didn’t have a W2, which is another thing to consider when you are leaving a job, a W2 does open a lot of doors. And when you don’t have it, it can close those doors for a while.

[00:10:14] Chandra Minter: But at this point I think the bug is back in there because now I can kind of just work with it as a hobby, the way that I did initially, and then just use my license and, and whatnot. I am going to say I’m getting very close to figuring out what that thing is.

[00:10:30] Nicole Pendergrass: Okay. So you’re still figuring it out. Sold all your properties and those were the, those sustained you financially while you were having this time to mentally just kind of figure out what that life purpose is, right?

[00:10:44] Nicole Pendergrass: And so how many years since you quit your W2 again?

[00:10:49] Chandra Minter: It was August of 2018.

[00:10:51] Nicole Pendergrass: 2018, so about four years. Wow. Okay, so four years, 2018. You still have your license? I thought what we told before you said something about like, even helping people buy their own properties is, feels like more purposeful to you. Is that still, was that something that you said, or did I make that up? It’s okay if I made that up.

[00:11:10] Chandra Minter: No, no, no. I enjoy using my license with investors.

[00:11:14] Nicole Pendergrass: Okay, with investors. Okay. And you’re still figuring out the life purpose. What is your next step then?

[00:11:22] Chandra Minter: So I do realize that I like to talk a lot. Yeah, I am an introvert, but I do like to talk. And I give a lot of unsolicited advice. So I figured that, and I’ve been doing that forever, so I figured that has to be the thing that I’m meant to do. I just got to figure out how to make money with it. So, starting September, I will be in a coaching program that is certified through the ICF. So that’ll start September, it’ll end September of next year. And then I will be a certified qualified coach. I do not know what I am going to niche down to at the moment, but I just know that I wanted more of a solid background in coaching before I just went out there. I tried it before, somewhat. And I just wasn’t ready. I felt like I needed more, more of a background, more of a, a solid foundation. So that is the, the starting point will be September of this year.

[00:12:21] Nicole Pendergrass: Oh, that’s good. And I think, yeah, I mean, you never know. Definitely we’ll stay in touch because I want to see how that evolves for you. And is there any, I know you don’t know exactly which niche you’re going to go to and, like, what type of coach you’re going to be, but is there something that kind of draws you that you think it might be the possibility?

[00:12:39] Chandra Minter: Yes. It’s definitely based on a lot of my experiences as a woman of color and things that I’ve gone through having to be coached by someone that doesn’t look like me, even though they did a great job, there’s more explaining that I have to do to them.

[00:12:54] Chandra Minter: So like, I had an eating disorder. I don’t think that people think eating disorders are prevalent in the African American community. And I had to kind of go through that process on my own. And even when I did reach out again, like, no one looked like me and it did seem my issue wasn’t anorexia. It was, it was the other way.

[00:13:13] Chandra Minter: I ate too much. And so while there are definitely people that can help with that, I do think that it would’ve been beneficial for me to see, even if I’m just scrolling on YouTube or whatnot, to see someone that looked like me, that was struggling with what they actually called it an eating disorder. So it would be more health wellness focused, I believe. But I think that overall it would be more of a life or lifestyle coach.

[00:13:43] Nicole Pendergrass: That’s what I was just going to say. I was like health and lifestyle.

[00:13:45] Chandra Minter: Yeah, yeah.

[00:13:46] Nicole Pendergrass: Because you have a lot of experience. Like if you have that health experience where you want to see people who look like you in that industry to help people who look like you, be comfortable coming forward and, and getting help from someone.

[00:13:59] Nicole Pendergrass: But then also with all of your life experiences. Even on the financial side and figuring out like taking time to figure out mentally, like where you want to be, what’s your life purpose. Like, all of that kind of ties together. And I think honestly, that would be a great, a great niche for you. So I’m excited to see what you ultimately decide and how this turns out.

[00:14:20] Nicole Pendergrass: This is exciting guys. It’s like, we’re seeing, you know, the story unfold in real time. So we’ll have to revisit. Maybe we’ll have you on again, like next year or in two, even two years after you finish your program and start coaching people. And I want to see what what’s going on.

[00:14:34] Nicole Pendergrass: Okay. So actually thank you so much. We’re wrapping up at the tail end and I’m going to. You the last few questions that I ask every guest and thank you so much for coming on. This has been fantastic. I hope people glean so much information from your journey and your story, and even reaching out to you. If you want investment properties, I’ll ask you that question in a second.

[00:16:04] Nicole Pendergrass: Anyway, if they want to reach out to you, but the first question. Warren Buffett says that diversification is protection against ignorance. Now whether that’s positive or negative people have different opinions. What’s your thought on that statement?

[00:16:19] Chandra Minter: I would agree. I guess the way I kind of see it is like I said, I was technically ignorant on a lot of things, but because I diverse, I happen to have, even in again, knowing what you have available. For me, I had a job that I bought into their 401k. So that is one level of diversifying. I was able to purchase a home with that 401k. Diversification number two, I then could get a tenant, so to speak in my home. Diversification number three, that can look different for so many people. Some people have someone like me that they don’t even know that may have, I’m not saying I have it right now, but that may have a couple of thousand dollars. Let’s say about five figures that they want to.

[00:17:11] Chandra Minter: Sometimes you just got to speak up. Sometimes diversifying is within your own self. So I would, I would agree with that statement. Okay. And just, just being vocal about what you want to do, what you want to learn, and don’t be shy or hesitant to walk into a room where the information is being given freely even if you look different, even if you sound different, just don’t be afraid.

[00:17:34] Nicole Pendergrass: Yes. The information is out there and people that is coming from the self-proclaimed introvert. Don’t be scared to go out there, even into rooms where people don’t look like you to get the information that you need, so you can use it for your benefit.

[00:17:48] Nicole Pendergrass: And even within, I love what you said, because even within the same industry of real estate, you were still diversifying because real estate is a huge, like there’s so many different asset types and classes and different ways to structure deals. And so you can diversify within just that overall umbrella of real estate. Okay. Perfect. Now the next one, Monopoly. You played Monopoly before? Yes. Okay. Boardwalk or Baltic avenue. What’s your strategy for winning, what’s your first purchase and why?

[00:18:18] Chandra Minter: I am not the best at playing Monopoly, but I will say that I am one of those people that is going to try to buy up everything because I always have the equity at the end of the day.

[00:18:31] Chandra Minter: I can always sell it to somebody. So that’s my strategy, whether it’s Boardwalk or Baltic, I would love to have both, but I feel that with my luck, even if I buy Boardwalk, people end up landing on Baltic more often. But if they happen to land on Boardwalk and I’ve got three hotels on that thing, game is over.

[00:18:53] Nicole Pendergrass: So nice. You’re going to start with Baltic and work your way up to Boardwalk? Or opposite?

[00:18:59] Chandra Minter: I don’t know. It depends on which one I land on first.

[00:19:02] Nicole Pendergrass: So your, your answer, you’re going with the first opportunity. You’re going to make it work. The opportunity work. Perfect. Okay. Now how can people get in touch with you? First, are you still an active realtor, but you help people who are investments buying investor properties, is that that’s correct? Right. Okay. And where are you located?

[00:19:19] Chandra Minter: I am in, I guess what’s called Central Virginia. I’m in Richmond.

[00:19:23] Nicole Pendergrass: Okay. So Richmond, Virginia area. If anybody wants to reach out to Chandra to help them buy investment properties, pick her brain more about the strategies she used and how they can use it for themselves and build a portfolio. How can people reach out to you?

[00:19:38] Chandra Minter: Mainly on Facebook at Chandra, basically, Chandra Minter.

[00:19:42] Nicole Pendergrass: We’ll have the link to Facebook profile in the show notes and then any other ways like email or whatever else you want to provide so that people can reach out to you if they want. So, you know, that’s a wrap and thank you again so much, Chandra, for joining us today and for sharing all your nuggets and your tidbits of wisdom and experience and your insights as an underwriter.

[00:20:04] Nicole Pendergrass: I hope everyone in there, you looking to get your portfolio started and you’re starting, even with your single family house, you just heard a prime example of how you can make that happen. So no excuses. Implementation let’s get it.

[00:20:17] Chandra Minter: The one thing that I tell everyone when they reach out, mostly my friends, and they say, how do I get started? Go and find your local REIA and just attend your first meeting. You will be blown away by all of the different, you know, I went the traditional route using a realtor to buy my properties. If I had just attended a REIA, I probably would have tripled the amount of properties I was able to take on.

[00:20:44] Chandra Minter: If I had known all of the creative ways to structure deals. So go find REIA, R-E-I-A. That’s what it is, and just join. Again, this is from an introvert. You can just sit there. You don’t have to talk.

[00:20:56] Nicole Pendergrass: Don’t have to talk. So that’s Real Estate Investors Association. We will have the link to National REIA in the show notes, and then you can go there and look up your local REIA or even just Googling REIA, your city.

[00:21:08] Nicole Pendergrass: And I’m sure there’s one there, or if not even meetup.com. If it’s not the official REIA, you can still find some type of meetup that’s real estate related, where you can go and sit in the back room and just listen. If you’re an introvert. Anyway, thank you so much. That is a wrap. And thank you again, Chandra, for joining us. I love it.

[00:21:28] Chandra Minter: You are so welcome. Thank you for having me.

[00:21:30] Nicole Pendergrass: No problem. All right, guys, I’ll see you next time.