January 31, 2025 • 37 mins
In part two of our conversation with Marisa Lopez, we explore how to build generational wealth through real estate investing. From leveraging her civil engineering background to learning from her immigrant parents' property management experience, Marisa shares practical strategies for getting started in real estate, even as a busy working mama. She breaks down different investment approaches, debunks common misconceptions, and reveals how our Latine community has been naturally "house hacking" for generations.
For detailed show notes, visit vivalamami.com/episode109
In this episode you'll hear:
- Different ways to invest in real estate beyond traditional landlording
- How to shift from a homeowner to an investor mindset
- Creative strategies for building wealth through real estate
- The importance of networking and finding mentors in real estate
- How to take your first steps into real estate investing
Resources Mentioned:
- Mujerón Movement
- Rich Dad Poor Dad book by Robert Kiyosaki
- Cashflow Quadrant book by Robert Kiyosaki
- Bigger Pockets Podcast
- The FI Investors Mastermind by Diego Corso
Connect with Marisa!
- Instagram: @asiramzepol
Catch Up: Listen to Part 1 of our conversation with Marisa where she shares her journey through divorce and conscious co-parenting as a Latina mom.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
amiga.
Are you dreaming of buildinggenerational wealth, but don't
know where to start?
What if I told you that many ofthe innovative real estate
strategies being taught todayare actually practices that our
immigrant families have beenusing for years?
This is part two of myconversation with Marisa Lopez,
(00:24):
where we dive into her journeyas a real estate investor.
If you haven't listened to lastweek's powerful episode about
Marisa's experience navigatingdivorce as a Latina mom, I
encourage you to check it outfirst.
It's an essential part ofunderstanding her complete story
of transformation.
And in this episode, Marisashares how the 2020 pandemic
(00:47):
sparked her realization thatrelying solely on a 9 to 5
income wasn't enough to secureher daughter's future.
Drawing from her family'sexperience managing properties
and her own background in civilengineering, she reveals how she
built a portfolio of threeproperties while working full
time and being a single mom.
(01:07):
What's particularly fascinatingis how Marisa highlights that
our Latina community has beenpracticing concepts like house
hacking and co living longbefore they became trendy
investment strategies.
We just didn't have theterminology for it.
From creating financial optionsto different types of rental
(01:28):
strategies, Marisa breaks downthe various ways you can get
started in real estateinvesting, even if being a
traditional landlord isn't yourthing.
She also shares Practical firststeps, recommended resources,
and the importance of shiftingfrom a homeowner to an investor
mindset.
This episode is perfect formamas who want to create lasting
(01:52):
wealth for their familias, butdon't know where to begin.
Join us for this enlighteningconversation about transforming
our community's inheritedentrepreneurial spirit into
strategic wealth buildingopportunities for the next
Generation.
Jessica (03:15):
And so now that, You're a full time mama, a full time
engineer, having a nine to five,and you have mentioned that this
aspect of real estate investinghas been kind of like your
passion.
And I totally get it, right?
Like we all need something todo, in addition to our typical
(03:36):
lives.
Marisa Lopez (03:37):
Mm hmm.
Jessica (03:37):
So what really inspired you to consider, this new
venture in real estateinvesting?
And now that you're kind oftapping onto entrepreneurship on
the end.
Marisa Lopez (03:46):
I Love this question.
It was 2020, April, May of 2020.
A lot of my friends, especiallymy friends in tech, were getting
laid off because of thepandemic, and I'm so fortunate
that I didn't have to go throughthat, but it made me realize,
like, dang, like, you know,things that are out of our
(04:07):
control can really impact thecompany we work for, and then,
if our only source of income isour salary, So, Like, man,
that's, that's rough.
I'm like, I need to, I need tostart building something of my
own outside.
Like, not that I don't like whatI do, not that I like, like, no,
I love what I do, but, you know,I gotta, I gotta take care of
(04:28):
me.
And, um, I was talking, I calledmy best friend.
And I was like, hey, like, youknow, this is what, these are
the thoughts I'm getting, youknow, like, and she was actually
one of the ones that got laidoff.
And she's like, you know, I'mglad you are.
I want you to read Rich Dad PoorDad the Quadrant.
Rich And then she even let meuse her Audible account, which
(04:48):
is like, log into my Audible,listen to them and, and get the
book too, like buy the physicalbook.
It was like, okay, um, that'sthe start.
And that really like got my.
Gears turning differently.
Uh, and then I also thought,okay, well, okay.
Asset liabilities, I need toaccumulate assets.
(05:09):
I need to leverage my income,uh, to buy assets.
I, I, uh, I can't just be likesaving.
I need to be strategic about it.
And if I do save, it needs to gointo like at least a high yield
savings account, or like, youknow, I need to learn about.
More about the stock market andall that.
So then little by little, youknow, that was like what ignited
(05:30):
it.
And then I, and then I came tothis point and I was like, wait,
my parents, they've been, I'vebeen helping them manage
properties.
Then it was what?
Um, 13 years.
And I was
Jessica (05:42):
mm-Hmm.
Marisa Lopez (05:43):
wait, Oh, I like, I already know this.
about real estate.
Like we fill it with propertieswith my dad.
Um, I help him maintain, um, Ido all the, like the
administrative stuff with thetenants and all that.
And, he handy stuff and I'mlike, okay, maybe I should
really consider that.
And I was, I had purchased my.
(06:03):
home a few years prior to 2020.
So and my dad helped me flip it.
I a rundown house When my momwalked into it, she's like, oh
my gosh My dad we had a vision,know, we made life and
everything so that was okay Ialready know some stuff.
Maybe I should start planningwhen I my next one I started
(06:29):
listening to podcasts, BiggerPockets,
Jessica (06:31):
Mm-Hmm.
Mm-Hmm.
Marisa Lopez (06:33):
talking to my dad more about it and and and some
of my friends who were kind oflike doing it, um, whether it
was like house hacking or or,um,
Jessica (06:43):
Mm-Hmm.
Marisa Lopez (06:43):
like at least one rental property.
Uh, so that was kind of likethe.
What ignited me and then it'sevolved into different things
now and, um, yeah, I did buy acouple more properties since
then.
And, uh, right now I'm on, um,trying out a new So I've done
long term rentals forresidential, but, uh, trying to
(07:07):
midterm rental where you run itfully furnished utilities
included in everything and yourun it to like traveling
professionals.
Um, we'll see see how that goes.
It's scary because nobody's everdone it but I have a friend
through like mastermind I joinedum last year who's Who has
(07:27):
experience in it and she's kindof holding my hand through it.
So
Jessica (07:30):
That's great.
Marisa Lopez (07:31):
and I you know, I I want to build and now that i'm
a mom I want to build somethingWill allow me to buy my time
back to where like My, my nineto five becomes an option.
or maybe I could even do a parttime in the future and then do
like more investing, butlearning how to put my money to
(07:53):
work for me was probably isinstrumental.
I think everybody should thinkof something like that and
divert, create multiple streamsof income.
Um,
Jessica (08:03):
yeah.
Yeah,
Marisa Lopez (08:07):
per se.
So, cause if, if our onlylifeline depends on that salary,
you know, and it gets cut,That's, that's, that's rough,
right?
I'm gonna have to figure it out.
Yeah, so, uh, yeah, it's been agreat journey.
I'm excited to what is to come.
Like, I have some ideas and, um,have this, like, new vision
after going to Chicago for the,you know, like, yeah, I, I, I'm
(08:32):
excited and I would encourage,you know, Uh, anyone who's
considering in, in investing inreal estate to, uh, to start
like re rich dad, poor dad, it'svery cliche, but do it um, reach
out to me if you have anyquestions, I'm helping a couple
of friends out right now, likegetting started.
Jessica (08:51):
that's awesome.
Marisa Lopez (08:52):
people often think like, Oh, I don't want to be a
landlord.
I don't want to deal with leakytenants or leaky toilets and
crazy tenants, but it's, uh,there's different opportunities.
You don't have to be.
There's other things.
And there's
Jessica (09:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh my gosh, that's awesome.
I think that that is a reallygreat way for you to build, you
know, generational wealth foryour daughter, um, where, um, We
don't really talk about that inour community.
Even though we grew up knowingthat our families always
hustled, right.
(09:28):
In addition to the nine tofives, they always had side
hustles.
And, And, I know that this wasmore so out of, out of survival,
but we have that in us for somereason that we want to do more
and we're willing to work hardto get to whatever goals we
want.
And, and, and, you know, it'sinteresting how like you
(09:48):
already.
New this in terms of realestate.
Um, I also grew up in amultifamily household where it
was, you know, us and thentenants or family members, but
essentially they contributed tothe mortgage, right?
They, they paid for the rentand, um, No one talked about
house hacking at the time, youknow, and now you have like
(10:11):
bigger pockets talking aboutthat.
And it's like, no, ourcommunity, we are the OG house
hackers, you know?
it's already ingrained in us,right?
About thinking smart, but no onetalked about it, but that no one
talked about like the actualterms and there was no language
involved about what is a sidehustle or, you know, And it's
(10:36):
like, well, technically you'rediversifying your, you know,
your income, you're havingdifferent streams of income.
But they didn't say that, right?
So I just wanted to point thatout there because it's already
instilled in us, but perhapsthere wasn't the language, you
know, out there that made usaware that, oh my gosh, like
technically, yeah, like this,we've always done this.
(10:59):
Um, but now I think we're beingsmart about it and being
intentional in terms of buildingthat generational wealth, right?
know what your thoughts are.
Marisa Lopez (11:08):
no,
Jessica (11:08):
Mm hmm.
Marisa Lopez (11:11):
community was like the OGs of house hacking and co
living.
Like now, uh, co living is likebecoming more popular.
it's like, well, no, we've beendoing this, like, uh, my
parents, when they bought theirfirst house, the first thing my
dad did was he converted thegarage into a studio apartment.
And like that paid for theirmortgage.
(11:32):
and then, you know, he wouldhave like, some family would
stay with us for some time.
And, and, uh, yeah, they, yeah,like your family, they, they
contributed to the, to themortgage, to the expenses.
And, and, you know, and thatwas, they did what they had to
do.
And then what's crazy too, is,um, I look at what, like my
(11:52):
parents did investing that theywere doing that they didn't even
know they were doing.
they didn't have what we had.
They didn't have podcasts.
Or like, you know, all
Jessica (12:02):
Yes.
Books.
Marisa Lopez (12:04):
yeah, Instagram
Jessica (12:06):
Right.
Marisa Lopez (12:07):
who know about this stuff, they didn't have
that.
Um, and uh, they figured it out.
So, to them.
Mhm.
Jessica (12:19):
should do a separate episode about that and have our
families listen to it.
Like, here, look at how you setthe example.
And, you know, without anyresources, really, it's it's
just something that I think itperhaps came out of survival,
right?
Trying to find creative ways
Marisa Lopez (12:36):
Yeah.
Jessica (12:38):
To just live in this country, especially when you're
first generation.
Yeah.
Marisa Lopez (12:42):
Yeah.
Jessica (12:43):
My gosh.
Okay.
So how many, uh, properties doyou have, um, right now?
Like, um, tell us a little bitmore about like your portfolio,
if you will.
And, and you mentioned howthere's different ways to, you
know, become like a real estateinvestor.
Like a lot of people think likeyou need to own property, but
(13:03):
you said that there's differentcreative ways.
Like what are those examplestoo?
Marisa Lopez (13:07):
Oh, well, right now I have three properties.
They're all single family home.
Um, I, I do like the residentialcause I've been very intentional
about it and like the intentionbehind it is like someone a
place to an opportunity to havea home.
Um, and then I, I also likethough cash was very important,
obviously, you know, part ofbusiness, but, um, being a
(13:31):
reasonable affordable cost forfor families.
Um, I'm a huge proponent on itand I'll go into it.
I'm glad I want to do in thefuture.
Um, but, and so I, I manage myown properties and then my
manage my parents.
They have, they have fiveproperties.
(13:52):
and they, they only focus onlong term
Jessica (13:54):
Hello.
Hello.
Marisa Lopez (14:04):
estate investor.
I have friends who are hardmoney lenders.
They're like, we don't wannadeal with it, but we, we have
capital.
We'll loan you the money to workon a, a, a fix and flip.
Um, just pay me interest andeverything's contractual.
You know, I think, I thinkanything in business needs to be
contractual and now that like,oh no, write it out.
(14:28):
Terms and, you know, terms andconditions.
That way we both know what's.
What you're going into it.
And then that's the other thing,you know, like you hear in the
family, so we can leverage thoserelationships to build wealth
together too.
I think that's something thatneeds to be leveraged more.
(14:49):
And I saw how, like my dad didthat and but, uh, yeah, being a
hard er or fix, fixing andflipping, um, you
Jessica (14:58):
Yes.
Marisa Lopez (15:07):
it, and sell it, and obviously calculate, the
numbers, and all that.
Or, um, there's others that dodevelopment, build sell.
There is a lot of money theretoo.
So, uh, there's, those are afew, I mean, I'm just, just a
scratching the surface.
There's so many other thingsthere's, if you don't want to
(15:27):
deal with it and you likestocks, but you like real
estate, there's, um, REITs, R IT S that you can invest in,
there's, yeah, there's so manythings, uh, but getting started
is the first thing going tostart on.
what is out there and then whatcatches your attention.
(15:48):
There's people that do Airbnbarbitrage.
They don't own the property,they just lease it.
And, and they're, you know,obviously they do it with the
landlord's consent.
And they're, you know, cashflowing these properties.
And both, wins.
The landlord, the arbitrager.
And then they're providing acool place for people to go
(16:11):
vacation at.
That's another cool one.
I recently met someone at the,uh, my gym who does property
management.
And what she does is, is she's,she arbitrages these.
So she rents it from thelandlord.
puts like bunk beds in the roomsand then she works with
(16:32):
Contractors then like we'reworking in the area for I don't
know six months to a year Andthen she'll she provides housing
for their employees At a betterrate versus them having to go to
like a hotel, you know and haveit and absorbs all these costs
she provides a a reasonableaffordable price that makes
(16:53):
sense for everyone and then um,you know, it's You house is
better than a hotel to live infor six months to a year, right?
A
Jessica (17:02):
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
My gosh.
Yes.
There's a lot of ways.
And I think we just have toovercome this fear and I think,
and it depends on how you grewup with money because it does.
It is a money mindset.
Right.
When, so we own, um, a realestate company.
Proper property as well.
(17:22):
And we're house hacking rightnow.
So we went from a home to, uh,in the suburbs, uh, from a four
bedroom house to, we currentlylive in a one bedroom apartment.
How do we do it as a family offour?
Well, we are currently.
Sleeping in a sofa bed,basically my husband and I and
the kids stay in that one room,but we're making it work right
(17:42):
now.
And I think it's so that, youknow, we can then use this as
leverage to then get anotherproperty.
But I think for us, when we hadthis initial conversation, it
was fear of like beinguncomfortable, right?
Of like doing the sacrifice oftrying to.
You know, do something differentthan the way that we were
(18:04):
brought up, than the way thatwe, uh, think of like the
American dream, right.
Of going and buying your ownproperty, but you stay there and
then you don't.
Build more out of it.
Right.
And I think we just have toovercome that fear to really
think about creative ways to,you know, again, it's going back
to building that generationalwealth.
(18:25):
Right.
And especially for us as first,second gen folks, we, Sometimes
we have to do the work in orderto see that progress, right.
And, experience, growth when itcomes to money.
yeah.
And so I, I appreciate yousharing like all of these
different levels of being a realestate investor, but it doesn't
come out to like traditional waytoo.
(18:48):
Um, there's other ways.
And yeah, like how, how can onefind people, or how do you
connect with people do you haveto network, do you have to do
something on your part as well,um, so that you can build this
community?
Marisa Lopez (19:01):
Yeah, building a network is so important in
anything that we do, especiallyin business.
But I think the first thing islike just saying, yes, I'm going
to learn.
I want to learn something new.
Uh, and like empowering yourselfto do that.
Um, I, like I mentioned, like,I'm a huge believer of bridge
(19:22):
that poor dad.
And every, actually every like.
has like real estate investing,um, local organizations that
meet up in person.
Like we have the, the Arizonarealtors or real estate
investors association that meetsup every Mondays.
So if you're a local type ofperson, look for any of them,
(19:46):
like you can Google them and I'msure you can find at least one.
So that's, that's one thing.
Uh, there's also, uh, Plenty ofonline communities.
I mean, BiggerPockets isprobably the biggest one, um,
and through BiggerPockets,through the website, you can
even find local stuff too, atthe
Jessica (20:03):
Mm hmm.
Marisa Lopez (20:04):
Uh, and then I, I believe that just starting to
speak more about it, know, oneof the, for the longest time I
was scared to talk about it atwork.
I thought, Oh my gosh, like if Isay this, then they're like,
they're not going to promote meor they're like, not going to
give me opportunities becausethey think I have something else
that's more important, but it'sall the way that you deliver
yourself and you share it.
(20:25):
So then I've actually met otherpeople who are like wanting to
do the same thing, or I've metpeople who are like, well, you
know, in the future, I want tosell this property.
I'm like, well, you're ready, Imean, I'd like to talk about if
there's opportunity for us towork together on something.
So, uh, I believe that the.
(20:45):
When you put it out, you know inthe universe, I mean it might
something might not come up thenbut it will come up later so
that's that's important too.
And and when you're open to it,too I know it may sound it may
sound like woo, but when youjust open yourself up to
opportunity and abundance
Jessica (21:05):
Hmm.
Marisa Lopez (21:05):
up and like Like, I kid you not, after I, I went
to Chicago, um, I had thisepiphany when I was on the boat
tour and I, because when I was aeight year old, I want to become
an architect, ended up becominga civil engineer, which is not
too far off, right?
Jessica (21:24):
Yeah, yeah.
Marisa Lopez (21:25):
I'm like, okay, well, I like building.
I always thought I was going todesign these buildings and
bridges, but now I just doutility lines, which is fine
because I light up the buildingsinstead of, you know, Building
or designing the structure, I'mlike, but I like real estate
investing.
I'm like, okay, you know what?
I'm going to be a developersomeday.
That's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to be a developer andI'm going to, you know, creative
(21:46):
on how to build energyefficient, homes that are
affordable for like lower incomeand, you know, middle class
folks, and then provide thatopportunity for them.
So still deciphering that.
And then a week after I, I hadthat thought and I said, okay,
yes, accept it.
(22:07):
Someone reached out to me onInstagram, who's a real estate
developer, she lives in Boston,I had connected with her like
months ago, um, a guest on theMastermind I was part of,
Jessica (22:21):
Okay.
Marisa Lopez (22:22):
talking, and we're like, okay, like, we're gonna,
we're gonna set up a differentsession, talk about our
projects, and See if there'sopportunity for us to work,
right.
We're together in the nearfuture.
And if not in the near future,we at least know what we're
working on.
That way, if I meet someone whoI can send her away or vice
versa, then, you know, we shouldjust start building this
network.
(22:43):
tell you, it's our mind ispowerful.
Jessica (22:47):
Yes,
Marisa Lopez (22:47):
Yeah.
Jessica (22:49):
gosh, I love it.
Like you were literallymanifesting this.
And then this came up rightafterwards.
And I think, yeah, like, again,if we break out of that scarcity
mindset that You know, fear oflike, Oh my gosh, I'm doing
something different or I'm doingsomething that, you know, we
(23:10):
feel uncomfortable, like in oursituation, right?
Like, we're like, how are wegoing to go from a four bedroom
house to a one bedroomapartment?
But we don't pay anything forthe cost of living because our
two tenants are paying for it.
Paying off our mortgage, youknow, and, and that has allowed
me to stay home, you know, fulltime, but now we're thinking,
(23:30):
okay, what is next?
Like now, we want to enhance ourportfolio and we'll see, we'll
go from there.
But I think it always comes downto, having that, mindset where
you're striving for more, youknow, not necessarily for the
money, but again, I think it'sknowing what your why is like
for me and for us really, it'sdefinitely to build generational
(23:53):
wealth for our kids, for ourkids to have something under
their name, where one of them.
Has their own building and thenthey end up choosing whether to
keep it or to sell it, whatever,but that is our goal to at least
have one property for each kid.
Um, and then we'll go fromthere.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Marisa Lopez (24:12):
the sacrifice that goes behind it, you know, it's,
it's worth it because everythingwe're come easy.
There's value in sacrifice,
Jessica (24:21):
Yes.
Marisa Lopez (24:22):
and great things are coming.
Uh,
Jessica (24:25):
Yeah, thank you.
Marisa Lopez (24:26):
yeah, one of the things that one of my mentors
says is like, figure out how youcan get, build different streams
of income that can pay for your,like, mortgage.
You know, make that like thefirst goal.
And then from there, you know,you just keep building and, um,
keep going and you get creativeand be open to new things and
(24:47):
struggles always going to bethere, fear is going to be
there, but that's where you takecalculated risk and, and, um,
move forward and dream big.
Jessica (24:56):
Yes, absolutely.
Yeah.
And one thing that, as I waspreparing for this interview
that I saw on your Instagram wasthat you shared that you don't
consider yourself a homebuyer ora homeowner, but you are an
investor, from the time that youbought your first property.
And so can you tell us thedifference between that and how
(25:16):
that can help people shift theirmindset about owning property?
Marisa Lopez (25:21):
Yes.
So the idea of buying your firsthome is very romanticized as it
should be, right?
It's exciting.
And people often get so caughtup on finding the perfect
property.
they believe that it's going tobe their forever home and for
some it is and that's good Um,but I knew right off the bat
that like the first house Ibought I was like, no I'm i'm
(25:43):
gonna live here for like fiveyears and then i'm gonna like
figure something else out Thisis like my starter home.
Um, and so then I Immediatelylike detached the emotion from
that because when we buy ashomeowners We're more emotional
and we let that You Get in theway and we come very attached.
(26:06):
Um, so and I've lived in likeall the properties I bought.
then like, I'm like, no, I'lllive here for, so when I bought
my second one, I'm like, okay,I'll live here for like two
years.
And then I'm going to buy thenext one.
And, uh, I ended up living therefor one.
And then I'm looking at theproperty, I'm like, okay, how,
how can I leverage this propertyan asset, you know, the
(26:29):
location, what, what kind ofwork am I going to do to improve
it?
Um, I look at it as a businessand sure.
Yeah, I'm going to live in itfor a few years.
But, um, I'm not, someday I'lllike have my forever home, but
that's something I'm going tobuild myself.
I'm going to like design it andbuild it, but for now, yeah, I'm
just detaching.
And it's really tough to
Jessica (26:51):
Yeah,
Marisa Lopez (26:51):
that.
Jessica (26:52):
yes, especially when you have kids.
Yeah.
Marisa Lopez (26:57):
And, you know, when it comes to having kids,
like, maybe my, my suggestion islike, if you buy a house that,
you know, you're like, oh, Thisisn't, this isn't going to be
the greatest thing for my kidsto just think, well, this is
temporary, like, we're going tolive here for like, you know, a
few years, we're going to saveup and then we're going to move
(27:19):
on to the next.
Um, and just at the big picture,not just focusing on what's in
front of us.
Jessica (27:27):
Yeah.
Marisa Lopez (27:29):
going through my divorce, I did a lot of work on
detachment.
just not becoming attached toideas, things, especially
things, um, and like justforging a new way through life,
you know, and just kind of likeletting myself be like, get
carried away with my biggergoals, the bigger intention of
(27:49):
like bigger purpose.
And we're thinking of, okay, howam I going to improve this
property?
You know, we want to put thebest, the best kind of sink, the
best this.
And depending on what you wantto do with the property, like if
it's going to be an Airbnb,sure.
Yeah, invest a little bit moreinto it.
But if it's going to be like amidterm or a short or a long
term rental, get somethingdurable.
(28:13):
gonna, that obviously looksnice, but you don't have to
spend, you know, make, make itthe best, doesn't have to be
like the Ferrari home, becausethen that's going to affect your
cash flow in the future, youknow, like the, called the cash
on cash return, um, that don't,yeah, it doesn't make sense to,
you know, buy the best of thebest for a house that you're
(28:34):
going to then rent later on.
Jessica (28:36):
Yep.
Absolutely.
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
That's such a great pointbecause where we live right now,
it's not like in a bougieneighborhood in the city, like
when you would think of LincolnPark or, you know, like the very
expensive, Parts of the city.
We don't we don't have thisproperty here, but I would say
it's more so in the middle kindof where it's family friendly,
(28:58):
so anything that is practical,right.
And that was something that ourrealtor told us, like, all you
have to do is put lipstick on apig sort of thing.
Um, especially in an area likethis, because You know, you
shouldn't overspend money to tryto make it seem like it's so
high end because you have tothink about your market, you
(29:19):
have to think about the peoplethat will essentially afford and
live in the area, you know,because then at the end of the
day, this place will always bevacant if we try to like, You
know, upcharge the, the cost ofrent.
And in reality it should bewithin, the market.
And, and yeah, that is such agreat point.
because we shouldn't overspendwhen thinking like, oh no, it's,
(29:42):
it's probably a differenttargeted, market than the one
that you think should live inhere.
So if someone wants to considerreal estate investing, what are
the first steps they need to do?
I think at least for us, it tookus like two years, to even start
(30:03):
with the initial conversationthat we had with the realtor.
And I think we should have justdone something different, but
for us, it took us two years.
To really pull the trigger, ifyou will, I don't know if that's
a good strategy.
So I want you to share withfolks, like how long it takes or
not how long it takes, but like,what is the first step that they
need to do?
Marisa Lopez (30:23):
I think the first step is just to like say yes to
yourself.
Okay.
I'm going to like take thisopportunity and learn more about
it.
So say yes to learn.
then the second thing is you'relike, it's different for someone
who's single than to someonewho's married.
And that's the decision that's,I mean, it's, it affects the
(30:44):
marriage, right?
So have that conversation withyour significant other and talk
it through and then talk aboutwhy you want to do it and try to
get them on, pitch it to them.
Um, I think in a, you know,we're all salespeople, learning
sales skills is importantbecause then even in a marriage,
you can pitch it to your, toyour husband and say, all right,
well, this is why I want to dothis and talk it through and
(31:05):
talk about the pros, cons, thefears.
Be very open about it.
then, um, find resources online,whether it's the audiobooks.
We have a wonderful throughsocial media and start
searching, um, you know, nearyou.
Cause I will assure you that inevery like big city throughout
(31:26):
the United States, there'ssomeone you could probably look
at.
You could probably like search,um, real estate investor,
Chicago, real estate investor, Idon't know, like Kansas city,
whatever.
And you'll find people, um, thatin your market that are, that
already are already like startedor in different phases the
(31:48):
social media, through theinternet and, um, and there's
local organizations inthroughout the United States as
well.
And if not, um, I, I mean, Iwould like to recommend my
mastermind that I joined a yearago, it's called the five
investors.
It's ran by Diego Corso.
Was a phenomenal story on how hegot started and all the
(32:10):
struggles.
Um, and he also has a podcastAnd he his group of the
mastermind everybody's verydiverse what kind of investing
they do it's great.
So, um, yeah The podcast isgreat and the mastermind has
been a game changer for me
Jessica (32:28):
That's awesome.
Thanks so much for sharing.
And I'll make sure to share allthe resources that you mentioned
in the show notes so that ourlisteners can start something.
And I know that for us as mamas,you want to do something better
for our children and leavesomething behind and the legacy.
Right.
And I think, for this country,in order for us to survive, we
(32:49):
need to have money.
We need to have the capital and,and it's not just for You know,
the luxury part of it.
No, I think it's so that we knowhow to work the system because
sometimes the system can goagainst us and we need to be
smart about it.
And, you know, many of us grewup with money traumas or just
(33:10):
like we, we don't talk aboutmoney or we don't talk about,
you know, just differentcreative ways to grow, um, our
assets.
And I think it's important tobreak that so that we are
building a generation Isn'tfearful of, money, you know?
And so, yeah.
So thank you so much for sharingall of this knowledge and wisdom
(33:31):
and, and really your motherhoodstory as well.
And as we're wrapping up, I'mgoing to ask you one last
question.
And that is my motherhoodquestions that I ask all my
guests.
I didn't prepare you for this tosee.
No.
how are you redefiningmotherhood?
Marisa Lopez (33:50):
That's a good one.
I'm redefining motherhood for,for my daughter, showing her
that, uh, a woman is capable ofbecoming the best version of
herself, and, and thatindependence is a beautiful
thing.
(34:11):
Uh, and that, like, I mean, Wecan do whatever we set our mind
to, which is it has to startwith us believing in ourselves
and building that community thatit's going to help us grow.
And that's, um, you know, we'regeneration has to break some
cycles.
(34:32):
So I broke a lot.
I'm still breaking some it'scrazy and I'm sure she was going
to have to break some too, butshe'll figure it out.
So then just empowering herthat, uh, The strength also,
it's, I mean, it's in ourlineage, I think of like, I've,
I've heard stories, mygrandmother tell me stories back
in her day and, and like thestrength and what and her mother
(34:56):
went through.
And that strength is, is in,it's the same way that trauma is
generational, strength is too.
And like the same thing, like,you know, I have strong women in
my family from both sides.
My paternal, uh, grandmotherwho's passed, like, it sounds
crazy, but I, I, I like I'mstill like connected to her.
(35:18):
And I know her strength lives inme.
So, and CS too, you know,they're strong ladies.
And that strength is in me too.
Jessica (35:25):
Yes.
Oh, I love it.
I love it.
Oh my gosh.
Okay, Marisa.
Well, where can people connectwith you?
Where can they follow you?
Marisa Lopez (35:35):
can be found on Instagram.
My, uh, handle is, uh,Azaramzapole.
Um, it's my name backwards.
Marissa Lopez backwards.
Uh, thinking of changing itcause I have another, uh, uh,
I'm soon to be a realtor, uh, Imight change it yeah, that's
(35:56):
something I need to talk about.
But yeah, so you can find me onInstagram and if you want to
start talking about, if there'sanybody that's interested and
wants to pick my brain, I'mhappy to set up like a phone
call, a zoom call and justconnect.
Um, I love I'm super social,like.
I was talking to people, meetingnew people and let's leverage
(36:19):
technology.
You know,
Jessica (36:20):
Yes, Yes, absolutely.
Oh my gosh, Marisa.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here.
It's, it's such an honor to haveyou here and share your story
and just like how inspirationalyou are.
I think with you sharing howIt's important for us to be
independent, powerful women.
You know, you are literally atestament of this.
(36:42):
So thank you so much.
And, um, wishing you so muchsuccess because I could see you
growing.
You're awesome.
Marisa Lopez (36:49):
we're growing.
Thank you.
Excited to hear about the nextfor you and your husband.
Jessica (36:56):
Oh, thank you.
amiga.
Are you dreaming of buildinggenerational wealth, but don't
know where to start?
What if I told you that many ofthe innovative real estate
strategies being taught todayare actually practices that our
immigrant families have beenusing for years?
This is part two of myconversation with Marisa Lopez,
(00:24):
where we dive into her journeyas a real estate investor.
If you haven't listened to lastweek's powerful episode about
Marisa's experience navigatingdivorce as a Latina mom, I
encourage you to check it outfirst.
It's an essential part ofunderstanding her complete story
of transformation.
And in this episode, Marisashares how the 2020 pandemic
(00:47):
sparked her realization thatrelying solely on a 9 to 5
income wasn't enough to secureher daughter's future.
Drawing from her family'sexperience managing properties
and her own background in civilengineering, she reveals how she
built a portfolio of threeproperties while working full
time and being a single mom.
(01:07):
What's particularly fascinatingis how Marisa highlights that
our Latina community has beenpracticing concepts like house
hacking and co living longbefore they became trendy
investment strategies.
We just didn't have theterminology for it.
From creating financial optionsto different types of rental
(01:28):
strategies, Marisa breaks downthe various ways you can get
started in real estateinvesting, even if being a
traditional landlord isn't yourthing.
She also shares Practical firststeps, recommended resources,
and the importance of shiftingfrom a homeowner to an investor
mindset.
This episode is perfect formamas who want to create lasting
(01:52):
wealth for their familias, butdon't know where to begin.
Join us for this enlighteningconversation about transforming
our community's inheritedentrepreneurial spirit into
strategic wealth buildingopportunities for the next
Generation.
Jessica (03:15):
And so now that, You're a full time mama, a full time
engineer, having a nine to five,and you have mentioned that this
aspect of real estate investinghas been kind of like your
passion.
And I totally get it, right?
Like we all need something todo, in addition to our typical
(03:36):
lives.
Marisa Lopez (03:37):
Mm hmm.
Jessica (03:37):
So what really inspired you to consider, this new
venture in real estateinvesting?
And now that you're kind oftapping onto entrepreneurship on
the end.
Marisa Lopez (03:46):
I Love this question.
It was 2020, April, May of 2020.
A lot of my friends, especiallymy friends in tech, were getting
laid off because of thepandemic, and I'm so fortunate
that I didn't have to go throughthat, but it made me realize,
like, dang, like, you know,things that are out of our
(04:07):
control can really impact thecompany we work for, and then,
if our only source of income isour salary, So, Like, man,
that's, that's rough.
I'm like, I need to, I need tostart building something of my
own outside.
Like, not that I don't like whatI do, not that I like, like, no,
I love what I do, but, you know,I gotta, I gotta take care of
(04:28):
me.
And, um, I was talking, I calledmy best friend.
And I was like, hey, like, youknow, this is what, these are
the thoughts I'm getting, youknow, like, and she was actually
one of the ones that got laidoff.
And she's like, you know, I'mglad you are.
I want you to read Rich Dad PoorDad the Quadrant.
Rich And then she even let meuse her Audible account, which
(04:48):
is like, log into my Audible,listen to them and, and get the
book too, like buy the physicalbook.
It was like, okay, um, that'sthe start.
And that really like got my.
Gears turning differently.
Uh, and then I also thought,okay, well, okay.
Asset liabilities, I need toaccumulate assets.
(05:09):
I need to leverage my income,uh, to buy assets.
I, I, uh, I can't just be likesaving.
I need to be strategic about it.
And if I do save, it needs to gointo like at least a high yield
savings account, or like, youknow, I need to learn about.
More about the stock market andall that.
So then little by little, youknow, that was like what ignited
(05:30):
it.
And then I, and then I came tothis point and I was like, wait,
my parents, they've been, I'vebeen helping them manage
properties.
Then it was what?
Um, 13 years.
And I was
Jessica (05:42):
mm-Hmm.
Marisa Lopez (05:43):
wait, Oh, I like, I already know this.
about real estate.
Like we fill it with propertieswith my dad.
Um, I help him maintain, um, Ido all the, like the
administrative stuff with thetenants and all that.
And, he handy stuff and I'mlike, okay, maybe I should
really consider that.
And I was, I had purchased my.
(06:03):
home a few years prior to 2020.
So and my dad helped me flip it.
I a rundown house When my momwalked into it, she's like, oh
my gosh My dad we had a vision,know, we made life and
everything so that was okay Ialready know some stuff.
Maybe I should start planningwhen I my next one I started
(06:29):
listening to podcasts, BiggerPockets,
Jessica (06:31):
Mm-Hmm.
Mm-Hmm.
Marisa Lopez (06:33):
talking to my dad more about it and and and some
of my friends who were kind oflike doing it, um, whether it
was like house hacking or or,um,
Jessica (06:43):
Mm-Hmm.
Marisa Lopez (06:43):
like at least one rental property.
Uh, so that was kind of likethe.
What ignited me and then it'sevolved into different things
now and, um, yeah, I did buy acouple more properties since
then.
And, uh, right now I'm on, um,trying out a new So I've done
long term rentals forresidential, but, uh, trying to
(07:07):
midterm rental where you run itfully furnished utilities
included in everything and yourun it to like traveling
professionals.
Um, we'll see see how that goes.
It's scary because nobody's everdone it but I have a friend
through like mastermind I joinedum last year who's Who has
(07:27):
experience in it and she's kindof holding my hand through it.
So
Jessica (07:30):
That's great.
Marisa Lopez (07:31):
and I you know, I I want to build and now that i'm
a mom I want to build somethingWill allow me to buy my time
back to where like My, my nineto five becomes an option.
or maybe I could even do a parttime in the future and then do
like more investing, butlearning how to put my money to
(07:53):
work for me was probably isinstrumental.
I think everybody should thinkof something like that and
divert, create multiple streamsof income.
Um,
Jessica (08:03):
yeah.
Yeah,
Marisa Lopez (08:07):
per se.
So, cause if, if our onlylifeline depends on that salary,
you know, and it gets cut,That's, that's, that's rough,
right?
I'm gonna have to figure it out.
Yeah, so, uh, yeah, it's been agreat journey.
I'm excited to what is to come.
Like, I have some ideas and, um,have this, like, new vision
after going to Chicago for the,you know, like, yeah, I, I, I'm
(08:32):
excited and I would encourage,you know, Uh, anyone who's
considering in, in investing inreal estate to, uh, to start
like re rich dad, poor dad, it'svery cliche, but do it um, reach
out to me if you have anyquestions, I'm helping a couple
of friends out right now, likegetting started.
Jessica (08:51):
that's awesome.
Marisa Lopez (08:52):
people often think like, Oh, I don't want to be a
landlord.
I don't want to deal with leakytenants or leaky toilets and
crazy tenants, but it's, uh,there's different opportunities.
You don't have to be.
There's other things.
And there's
Jessica (09:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh my gosh, that's awesome.
I think that that is a reallygreat way for you to build, you
know, generational wealth foryour daughter, um, where, um, We
don't really talk about that inour community.
Even though we grew up knowingthat our families always
hustled, right.
(09:28):
In addition to the nine tofives, they always had side
hustles.
And, And, I know that this wasmore so out of, out of survival,
but we have that in us for somereason that we want to do more
and we're willing to work hardto get to whatever goals we
want.
And, and, and, you know, it'sinteresting how like you
(09:48):
already.
New this in terms of realestate.
Um, I also grew up in amultifamily household where it
was, you know, us and thentenants or family members, but
essentially they contributed tothe mortgage, right?
They, they paid for the rentand, um, No one talked about
house hacking at the time, youknow, and now you have like
(10:11):
bigger pockets talking aboutthat.
And it's like, no, ourcommunity, we are the OG house
hackers, you know?
it's already ingrained in us,right?
About thinking smart, but no onetalked about it, but that no one
talked about like the actualterms and there was no language
involved about what is a sidehustle or, you know, And it's
(10:36):
like, well, technically you'rediversifying your, you know,
your income, you're havingdifferent streams of income.
But they didn't say that, right?
So I just wanted to point thatout there because it's already
instilled in us, but perhapsthere wasn't the language, you
know, out there that made usaware that, oh my gosh, like
technically, yeah, like this,we've always done this.
(10:59):
Um, but now I think we're beingsmart about it and being
intentional in terms of buildingthat generational wealth, right?
know what your thoughts are.
Marisa Lopez (11:08):
no,
Jessica (11:08):
Mm hmm.
Marisa Lopez (11:11):
community was like the OGs of house hacking and co
living.
Like now, uh, co living is likebecoming more popular.
it's like, well, no, we've beendoing this, like, uh, my
parents, when they bought theirfirst house, the first thing my
dad did was he converted thegarage into a studio apartment.
And like that paid for theirmortgage.
(11:32):
and then, you know, he wouldhave like, some family would
stay with us for some time.
And, and, uh, yeah, they, yeah,like your family, they, they
contributed to the, to themortgage, to the expenses.
And, and, you know, and thatwas, they did what they had to
do.
And then what's crazy too, is,um, I look at what, like my
(11:52):
parents did investing that theywere doing that they didn't even
know they were doing.
they didn't have what we had.
They didn't have podcasts.
Or like, you know, all
Jessica (12:02):
Yes.
Books.
Marisa Lopez (12:04):
yeah, Instagram
Jessica (12:06):
Right.
Marisa Lopez (12:07):
who know about this stuff, they didn't have
that.
Um, and uh, they figured it out.
So, to them.
Mhm.
Jessica (12:19):
should do a separate episode about that and have our
families listen to it.
Like, here, look at how you setthe example.
And, you know, without anyresources, really, it's it's
just something that I think itperhaps came out of survival,
right?
Trying to find creative ways
Marisa Lopez (12:36):
Yeah.
Jessica (12:38):
To just live in this country, especially when you're
first generation.
Yeah.
Marisa Lopez (12:42):
Yeah.
Jessica (12:43):
My gosh.
Okay.
So how many, uh, properties doyou have, um, right now?
Like, um, tell us a little bitmore about like your portfolio,
if you will.
And, and you mentioned howthere's different ways to, you
know, become like a real estateinvestor.
Like a lot of people think likeyou need to own property, but
(13:03):
you said that there's differentcreative ways.
Like what are those examplestoo?
Marisa Lopez (13:07):
Oh, well, right now I have three properties.
They're all single family home.
Um, I, I do like the residentialcause I've been very intentional
about it and like the intentionbehind it is like someone a
place to an opportunity to havea home.
Um, and then I, I also likethough cash was very important,
obviously, you know, part ofbusiness, but, um, being a
(13:31):
reasonable affordable cost forfor families.
Um, I'm a huge proponent on itand I'll go into it.
I'm glad I want to do in thefuture.
Um, but, and so I, I manage myown properties and then my
manage my parents.
They have, they have fiveproperties.
(13:52):
and they, they only focus onlong term
Jessica (13:54):
Hello.
Hello.
Marisa Lopez (14:04):
estate investor.
I have friends who are hardmoney lenders.
They're like, we don't wannadeal with it, but we, we have
capital.
We'll loan you the money to workon a, a, a fix and flip.
Um, just pay me interest andeverything's contractual.
You know, I think, I thinkanything in business needs to be
contractual and now that like,oh no, write it out.
(14:28):
Terms and, you know, terms andconditions.
That way we both know what's.
What you're going into it.
And then that's the other thing,you know, like you hear in the
family, so we can leverage thoserelationships to build wealth
together too.
I think that's something thatneeds to be leveraged more.
(14:49):
And I saw how, like my dad didthat and but, uh, yeah, being a
hard er or fix, fixing andflipping, um, you
Jessica (14:58):
Yes.
Marisa Lopez (15:07):
it, and sell it, and obviously calculate, the
numbers, and all that.
Or, um, there's others that dodevelopment, build sell.
There is a lot of money theretoo.
So, uh, there's, those are afew, I mean, I'm just, just a
scratching the surface.
There's so many other thingsthere's, if you don't want to
(15:27):
deal with it and you likestocks, but you like real
estate, there's, um, REITs, R IT S that you can invest in,
there's, yeah, there's so manythings, uh, but getting started
is the first thing going tostart on.
what is out there and then whatcatches your attention.
(15:48):
There's people that do Airbnbarbitrage.
They don't own the property,they just lease it.
And, and they're, you know,obviously they do it with the
landlord's consent.
And they're, you know, cashflowing these properties.
And both, wins.
The landlord, the arbitrager.
And then they're providing acool place for people to go
(16:11):
vacation at.
That's another cool one.
I recently met someone at the,uh, my gym who does property
management.
And what she does is, is she's,she arbitrages these.
So she rents it from thelandlord.
puts like bunk beds in the roomsand then she works with
(16:32):
Contractors then like we'reworking in the area for I don't
know six months to a year Andthen she'll she provides housing
for their employees At a betterrate versus them having to go to
like a hotel, you know and haveit and absorbs all these costs
she provides a a reasonableaffordable price that makes
(16:53):
sense for everyone and then um,you know, it's You house is
better than a hotel to live infor six months to a year, right?
A
Jessica (17:02):
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
My gosh.
Yes.
There's a lot of ways.
And I think we just have toovercome this fear and I think,
and it depends on how you grewup with money because it does.
It is a money mindset.
Right.
When, so we own, um, a realestate company.
Proper property as well.
(17:22):
And we're house hacking rightnow.
So we went from a home to, uh,in the suburbs, uh, from a four
bedroom house to, we currentlylive in a one bedroom apartment.
How do we do it as a family offour?
Well, we are currently.
Sleeping in a sofa bed,basically my husband and I and
the kids stay in that one room,but we're making it work right
(17:42):
now.
And I think it's so that, youknow, we can then use this as
leverage to then get anotherproperty.
But I think for us, when we hadthis initial conversation, it
was fear of like beinguncomfortable, right?
Of like doing the sacrifice oftrying to.
You know, do something differentthan the way that we were
(18:04):
brought up, than the way thatwe, uh, think of like the
American dream, right.
Of going and buying your ownproperty, but you stay there and
then you don't.
Build more out of it.
Right.
And I think we just have toovercome that fear to really
think about creative ways to,you know, again, it's going back
to building that generationalwealth.
(18:25):
Right.
And especially for us as first,second gen folks, we, Sometimes
we have to do the work in orderto see that progress, right.
And, experience, growth when itcomes to money.
yeah.
And so I, I appreciate yousharing like all of these
different levels of being a realestate investor, but it doesn't
come out to like traditional waytoo.
(18:48):
Um, there's other ways.
And yeah, like how, how can onefind people, or how do you
connect with people do you haveto network, do you have to do
something on your part as well,um, so that you can build this
community?
Marisa Lopez (19:01):
Yeah, building a network is so important in
anything that we do, especiallyin business.
But I think the first thing islike just saying, yes, I'm going
to learn.
I want to learn something new.
Uh, and like empowering yourselfto do that.
Um, I, like I mentioned, like,I'm a huge believer of bridge
(19:22):
that poor dad.
And every, actually every like.
has like real estate investing,um, local organizations that
meet up in person.
Like we have the, the Arizonarealtors or real estate
investors association that meetsup every Mondays.
So if you're a local type ofperson, look for any of them,
(19:46):
like you can Google them and I'msure you can find at least one.
So that's, that's one thing.
Uh, there's also, uh, Plenty ofonline communities.
I mean, BiggerPockets isprobably the biggest one, um,
and through BiggerPockets,through the website, you can
even find local stuff too, atthe
Jessica (20:03):
Mm hmm.
Marisa Lopez (20:04):
Uh, and then I, I believe that just starting to
speak more about it, know, oneof the, for the longest time I
was scared to talk about it atwork.
I thought, Oh my gosh, like if Isay this, then they're like,
they're not going to promote meor they're like, not going to
give me opportunities becausethey think I have something else
that's more important, but it'sall the way that you deliver
yourself and you share it.
(20:25):
So then I've actually met otherpeople who are like wanting to
do the same thing, or I've metpeople who are like, well, you
know, in the future, I want tosell this property.
I'm like, well, you're ready, Imean, I'd like to talk about if
there's opportunity for us towork together on something.
So, uh, I believe that the.
(20:45):
When you put it out, you know inthe universe, I mean it might
something might not come up thenbut it will come up later so
that's that's important too.
And and when you're open to it,too I know it may sound it may
sound like woo, but when youjust open yourself up to
opportunity and abundance
Jessica (21:05):
Hmm.
Marisa Lopez (21:05):
up and like Like, I kid you not, after I, I went
to Chicago, um, I had thisepiphany when I was on the boat
tour and I, because when I was aeight year old, I want to become
an architect, ended up becominga civil engineer, which is not
too far off, right?
Jessica (21:24):
Yeah, yeah.
Marisa Lopez (21:25):
I'm like, okay, well, I like building.
I always thought I was going todesign these buildings and
bridges, but now I just doutility lines, which is fine
because I light up the buildingsinstead of, you know, Building
or designing the structure, I'mlike, but I like real estate
investing.
I'm like, okay, you know what?
I'm going to be a developersomeday.
That's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to be a developer andI'm going to, you know, creative
(21:46):
on how to build energyefficient, homes that are
affordable for like lower incomeand, you know, middle class
folks, and then provide thatopportunity for them.
So still deciphering that.
And then a week after I, I hadthat thought and I said, okay,
yes, accept it.
(22:07):
Someone reached out to me onInstagram, who's a real estate
developer, she lives in Boston,I had connected with her like
months ago, um, a guest on theMastermind I was part of,
Jessica (22:21):
Okay.
Marisa Lopez (22:22):
talking, and we're like, okay, like, we're gonna,
we're gonna set up a differentsession, talk about our
projects, and See if there'sopportunity for us to work,
right.
We're together in the nearfuture.
And if not in the near future,we at least know what we're
working on.
That way, if I meet someone whoI can send her away or vice
versa, then, you know, we shouldjust start building this
network.
(22:43):
tell you, it's our mind ispowerful.
Jessica (22:47):
Yes,
Marisa Lopez (22:47):
Yeah.
Jessica (22:49):
gosh, I love it.
Like you were literallymanifesting this.
And then this came up rightafterwards.
And I think, yeah, like, again,if we break out of that scarcity
mindset that You know, fear oflike, Oh my gosh, I'm doing
something different or I'm doingsomething that, you know, we
(23:10):
feel uncomfortable, like in oursituation, right?
Like, we're like, how are wegoing to go from a four bedroom
house to a one bedroomapartment?
But we don't pay anything forthe cost of living because our
two tenants are paying for it.
Paying off our mortgage, youknow, and, and that has allowed
me to stay home, you know, fulltime, but now we're thinking,
(23:30):
okay, what is next?
Like now, we want to enhance ourportfolio and we'll see, we'll
go from there.
But I think it always comes downto, having that, mindset where
you're striving for more, youknow, not necessarily for the
money, but again, I think it'sknowing what your why is like
for me and for us really, it'sdefinitely to build generational
(23:53):
wealth for our kids, for ourkids to have something under
their name, where one of them.
Has their own building and thenthey end up choosing whether to
keep it or to sell it, whatever,but that is our goal to at least
have one property for each kid.
Um, and then we'll go fromthere.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Marisa Lopez (24:12):
the sacrifice that goes behind it, you know, it's,
it's worth it because everythingwe're come easy.
There's value in sacrifice,
Jessica (24:21):
Yes.
Marisa Lopez (24:22):
and great things are coming.
Uh,
Jessica (24:25):
Yeah, thank you.
Marisa Lopez (24:26):
yeah, one of the things that one of my mentors
says is like, figure out how youcan get, build different streams
of income that can pay for your,like, mortgage.
You know, make that like thefirst goal.
And then from there, you know,you just keep building and, um,
keep going and you get creativeand be open to new things and
(24:47):
struggles always going to bethere, fear is going to be
there, but that's where you takecalculated risk and, and, um,
move forward and dream big.
Jessica (24:56):
Yes, absolutely.
Yeah.
And one thing that, as I waspreparing for this interview
that I saw on your Instagram wasthat you shared that you don't
consider yourself a homebuyer ora homeowner, but you are an
investor, from the time that youbought your first property.
And so can you tell us thedifference between that and how
(25:16):
that can help people shift theirmindset about owning property?
Marisa Lopez (25:21):
Yes.
So the idea of buying your firsthome is very romanticized as it
should be, right?
It's exciting.
And people often get so caughtup on finding the perfect
property.
they believe that it's going tobe their forever home and for
some it is and that's good Um,but I knew right off the bat
that like the first house Ibought I was like, no I'm i'm
(25:43):
gonna live here for like fiveyears and then i'm gonna like
figure something else out Thisis like my starter home.
Um, and so then I Immediatelylike detached the emotion from
that because when we buy ashomeowners We're more emotional
and we let that You Get in theway and we come very attached.
(26:06):
Um, so and I've lived in likeall the properties I bought.
then like, I'm like, no, I'lllive here for, so when I bought
my second one, I'm like, okay,I'll live here for like two
years.
And then I'm going to buy thenext one.
And, uh, I ended up living therefor one.
And then I'm looking at theproperty, I'm like, okay, how,
how can I leverage this propertyan asset, you know, the
(26:29):
location, what, what kind ofwork am I going to do to improve
it?
Um, I look at it as a businessand sure.
Yeah, I'm going to live in itfor a few years.
But, um, I'm not, someday I'lllike have my forever home, but
that's something I'm going tobuild myself.
I'm going to like design it andbuild it, but for now, yeah, I'm
just detaching.
And it's really tough to
Jessica (26:51):
Yeah,
Marisa Lopez (26:51):
that.
Jessica (26:52):
yes, especially when you have kids.
Yeah.
Marisa Lopez (26:57):
And, you know, when it comes to having kids,
like, maybe my, my suggestion islike, if you buy a house that,
you know, you're like, oh, Thisisn't, this isn't going to be
the greatest thing for my kidsto just think, well, this is
temporary, like, we're going tolive here for like, you know, a
few years, we're going to saveup and then we're going to move
(27:19):
on to the next.
Um, and just at the big picture,not just focusing on what's in
front of us.
Jessica (27:27):
Yeah.
Marisa Lopez (27:29):
going through my divorce, I did a lot of work on
detachment.
just not becoming attached toideas, things, especially
things, um, and like justforging a new way through life,
you know, and just kind of likeletting myself be like, get
carried away with my biggergoals, the bigger intention of
(27:49):
like bigger purpose.
And we're thinking of, okay, howam I going to improve this
property?
You know, we want to put thebest, the best kind of sink, the
best this.
And depending on what you wantto do with the property, like if
it's going to be an Airbnb,sure.
Yeah, invest a little bit moreinto it.
But if it's going to be like amidterm or a short or a long
term rental, get somethingdurable.
(28:13):
gonna, that obviously looksnice, but you don't have to
spend, you know, make, make itthe best, doesn't have to be
like the Ferrari home, becausethen that's going to affect your
cash flow in the future, youknow, like the, called the cash
on cash return, um, that don't,yeah, it doesn't make sense to,
you know, buy the best of thebest for a house that you're
(28:34):
going to then rent later on.
Jessica (28:36):
Yep.
Absolutely.
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
That's such a great pointbecause where we live right now,
it's not like in a bougieneighborhood in the city, like
when you would think of LincolnPark or, you know, like the very
expensive, Parts of the city.
We don't we don't have thisproperty here, but I would say
it's more so in the middle kindof where it's family friendly,
(28:58):
so anything that is practical,right.
And that was something that ourrealtor told us, like, all you
have to do is put lipstick on apig sort of thing.
Um, especially in an area likethis, because You know, you
shouldn't overspend money to tryto make it seem like it's so
high end because you have tothink about your market, you
(29:19):
have to think about the peoplethat will essentially afford and
live in the area, you know,because then at the end of the
day, this place will always bevacant if we try to like, You
know, upcharge the, the cost ofrent.
And in reality it should bewithin, the market.
And, and yeah, that is such agreat point.
because we shouldn't overspendwhen thinking like, oh no, it's,
(29:42):
it's probably a differenttargeted, market than the one
that you think should live inhere.
So if someone wants to considerreal estate investing, what are
the first steps they need to do?
I think at least for us, it tookus like two years, to even start
(30:03):
with the initial conversationthat we had with the realtor.
And I think we should have justdone something different, but
for us, it took us two years.
To really pull the trigger, ifyou will, I don't know if that's
a good strategy.
So I want you to share withfolks, like how long it takes or
not how long it takes, but like,what is the first step that they
need to do?
Marisa Lopez (30:23):
I think the first step is just to like say yes to
yourself.
Okay.
I'm going to like take thisopportunity and learn more about
it.
So say yes to learn.
then the second thing is you'relike, it's different for someone
who's single than to someonewho's married.
And that's the decision that's,I mean, it's, it affects the
(30:44):
marriage, right?
So have that conversation withyour significant other and talk
it through and then talk aboutwhy you want to do it and try to
get them on, pitch it to them.
Um, I think in a, you know,we're all salespeople, learning
sales skills is importantbecause then even in a marriage,
you can pitch it to your, toyour husband and say, all right,
well, this is why I want to dothis and talk it through and
(31:05):
talk about the pros, cons, thefears.
Be very open about it.
then, um, find resources online,whether it's the audiobooks.
We have a wonderful throughsocial media and start
searching, um, you know, nearyou.
Cause I will assure you that inevery like big city throughout
(31:26):
the United States, there'ssomeone you could probably look
at.
You could probably like search,um, real estate investor,
Chicago, real estate investor, Idon't know, like Kansas city,
whatever.
And you'll find people, um, thatin your market that are, that
already are already like startedor in different phases the
(31:48):
social media, through theinternet and, um, and there's
local organizations inthroughout the United States as
well.
And if not, um, I, I mean, Iwould like to recommend my
mastermind that I joined a yearago, it's called the five
investors.
It's ran by Diego Corso.
Was a phenomenal story on how hegot started and all the
(32:10):
struggles.
Um, and he also has a podcastAnd he his group of the
mastermind everybody's verydiverse what kind of investing
they do it's great.
So, um, yeah The podcast isgreat and the mastermind has
been a game changer for me
Jessica (32:28):
That's awesome.
Thanks so much for sharing.
And I'll make sure to share allthe resources that you mentioned
in the show notes so that ourlisteners can start something.
And I know that for us as mamas,you want to do something better
for our children and leavesomething behind and the legacy.
Right.
And I think, for this country,in order for us to survive, we
(32:49):
need to have money.
We need to have the capital and,and it's not just for You know,
the luxury part of it.
No, I think it's so that we knowhow to work the system because
sometimes the system can goagainst us and we need to be
smart about it.
And, you know, many of us grewup with money traumas or just
(33:10):
like we, we don't talk aboutmoney or we don't talk about,
you know, just differentcreative ways to grow, um, our
assets.
And I think it's important tobreak that so that we are
building a generation Isn'tfearful of, money, you know?
And so, yeah.
So thank you so much for sharingall of this knowledge and wisdom
(33:31):
and, and really your motherhoodstory as well.
And as we're wrapping up, I'mgoing to ask you one last
question.
And that is my motherhoodquestions that I ask all my
guests.
I didn't prepare you for this tosee.
No.
how are you redefiningmotherhood?
Marisa Lopez (33:50):
That's a good one.
I'm redefining motherhood for,for my daughter, showing her
that, uh, a woman is capable ofbecoming the best version of
herself, and, and thatindependence is a beautiful
thing.
(34:11):
Uh, and that, like, I mean, Wecan do whatever we set our mind
to, which is it has to startwith us believing in ourselves
and building that community thatit's going to help us grow.
And that's, um, you know, we'regeneration has to break some
cycles.
(34:32):
So I broke a lot.
I'm still breaking some it'scrazy and I'm sure she was going
to have to break some too, butshe'll figure it out.
So then just empowering herthat, uh, The strength also,
it's, I mean, it's in ourlineage, I think of like, I've,
I've heard stories, mygrandmother tell me stories back
in her day and, and like thestrength and what and her mother
(34:56):
went through.
And that strength is, is in,it's the same way that trauma is
generational, strength is too.
And like the same thing, like,you know, I have strong women in
my family from both sides.
My paternal, uh, grandmotherwho's passed, like, it sounds
crazy, but I, I, I like I'mstill like connected to her.
(35:18):
And I know her strength lives inme.
So, and CS too, you know,they're strong ladies.
And that strength is in me too.
Jessica (35:25):
Yes.
Oh, I love it.
I love it.
Oh my gosh.
Okay, Marisa.
Well, where can people connectwith you?
Where can they follow you?
Marisa Lopez (35:35):
can be found on Instagram.
My, uh, handle is, uh,Azaramzapole.
Um, it's my name backwards.
Marissa Lopez backwards.
Uh, thinking of changing itcause I have another, uh, uh,
I'm soon to be a realtor, uh, Imight change it yeah, that's
(35:56):
something I need to talk about.
But yeah, so you can find me onInstagram and if you want to
start talking about, if there'sanybody that's interested and
wants to pick my brain, I'mhappy to set up like a phone
call, a zoom call and justconnect.
Um, I love I'm super social,like.
I was talking to people, meetingnew people and let's leverage
(36:19):
technology.
You know,
Jessica (36:20):
Yes, Yes, absolutely.
Oh my gosh, Marisa.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here.
It's, it's such an honor to haveyou here and share your story
and just like how inspirationalyou are.
I think with you sharing howIt's important for us to be
independent, powerful women.
You know, you are literally atestament of this.
(36:42):
So thank you so much.
And, um, wishing you so muchsuccess because I could see you
growing.
You're awesome.
Marisa Lopez (36:49):
we're growing.
Thank you.
Excited to hear about the nextfor you and your husband.
Jessica (36:56):
Oh, thank you.
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