While my friends and I were busy trying to buy beer with a fake ID, Andrew Holmes was already rocking the real estate game at 19 years young. He had gotten licensed as a real estate agent—that overachiever! That kept him busy for the next 13 years. Then 2008 happened. While others went running for cover, Andrew seized the moment and began flipping houses. Did that for a few years until he realized he had just traded one treadmill (commissions) for another (flips). It was time to work smarter.
“In 2011, I started buying rental properties,” Andrew says. “And over the years, have accumulated a large portfolio. At this point, I’m somewhere around like net cash flow of $115,000 a month. My next goal is to get that to $250k a month in net cash flow. No matter what I do, that is all that counts: cash flow. If you’re doing flips, that’s great—just understand, you’re running on a treadmill. You need to build towards cash flow income. So either you’re doing BRRRR or 2/5/7: two properties in five years, get ’em all paid off in seven.”
“And then you can build and scale up from there,” he continues, “or get into Airbnbs. So the event I host, it’s all about, Day 1, how do you find the right properties? Day 2, people who are there in person [it’s hosted in Chicago], we take them out on a bunch of buses to a bunch of properties. And these are not properties for sale; we’re not selling anything to them. These are Airbnbs and everyday bread-and-butter properties that anybody can accumulate. So they get to touch, feel, see exactly what we do.”
“And then Day 3 is, how do you stack and build a large portfolio and how do you do it very profitably?” Andrew explains. “Right? So, today, the focus has shifted a bit. It’s not just long-term holds, but finding local Airbnb properties in your market. Why? Because they’re 4-6 times as profitable and they’re inexpensive to buy in your local markets. So that’s kinda the focus. We don’t count your success as the flips you do, we count your success as the rentals that you accumulate. We drink the Kool-Aid of cash flow.”
Okay, but what if you’re not in Chi Town? Should you fly in? Or attend virtually (which is also an option)? Or is this not gonna work in your area? According to Andrew, his model works anywhere, and it all hinges on LPN, or Lifestyle Property Number—that is, how many properties you need to achieve your desired lifestyle. The principles that succeed in Chicago can be applied in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and beyond. The fundamentals are always the same. The real challenge is whether you can commit to one strategy and execute it with speed and precision.
What about the high interest rates we’re facing? Chuck those worries in the dumpster behind In-N-Out Burger, says Andrew. The reality is, high interest rates can be a blessing in disguise, providing an opening to renegotiate terms with sellers. Right now, they’re having no trouble talking them down an extra $30,000 to $50,000 per property. Another advantage of working with Andrew is you can tap into all the private money available within his group of investors. Other members are happy to pitch in with a down payment, as long as you make it worth their while.
Real estate seminars can feel like a roll of the dice. Like, “Is this guru gonna teach me how to actually invest when I get there, or drug me and take my organs?” Sooo not the vibe I got with Andrew. His three-day Build Your Empire conference and property tour seems like a safe bet. It comes across as genuine and well-intentioned. You can attend in person for $97 or virtually for $47. Keep in mind that there may be an upsell involved. For those interested in virtual real estate, poke around this site. I’m basically the theme song from Friends.
