Laurie has been a real estate investor for over 30 years, beginning by purchasing rental property as a way to supplement her income. She now invests full-time and has helped other investors build their own rental portfolios. Purchasing, rehabbing, then selling turn-key rentals, she has supplied over 100 cash-flowing homes to other investors over the years.

Creating a standard procedure for finding, vetting and accepting quality tenants allowed her to have long-term tenants and avoid the cost of turnover, a killer for landlords. This was through trial and error, of which there was a lot. Learning state and local laws as well as maintaining exceptional properties, she has broken the mold on landlord-tenant relationships for profitable rentals.

Purchasing several hundred rental properties, she grew her own portfolio. The cash flow allowed her to begin rehabbing residential properties. She has successfully rehabbed over two hundred homes for retail sale in and around the Charlotte, NC area.

Developing a marketing system, she often has many deals in her pipeline. Excess deals become wholesaling opportunities, allowing profit without the work of rehabbing.

Building strong, trusted relationships has allowed her the benefit of private lenders who happily fund many of her deals. Fifteen years ago, she began funding deals for other investors. Working with new investors, she mentored them through their first few deals until they were ready to be on their own. Funding nearly a hundred deals, she has learned the ins and out of private lending, safely, with processes and forms to protect investments.

For two years, she ran a monthly meeting for new investors, teaching, answering questions and creating relationships as she loves to give back to the community. Through this experience, her expertise earned her recommendations to speak at numerous local events and panel discussions on many real estate topics. At the drop of a hat, she will spend hours talking about real estate, systems, methods and specifics and has done many nationwide podcasts.

Laurie spent over nine years in the mortgage industry as a loan officer. She created a program and wrote a book called Mortgage Ready, available on Amazon, to help those who want to become homeowners but need a clear direction to qualify.

She used her experience and Mortgage Ready to help over two hundred people, who were previously turned down for a mortgage, become homeowners with her rent-to-own program.

Teaching brings her joy. You can hear the enjoyment in her voice answering the simplest of questions. She has passion and pride in helping others become successful investors and she is here to help.

“My biggest piece of advice for new investors would be to expect the unexpected and be prepared to pay for it. I learned so much from my first rental experience, both positive and educational. It was tough, I didn’t know anything about real estate or being a landlord, property owner or having my own business. Information was not as available as it is today with a simple Google search, so it was eat or be eaten. I learned how to succeed the hard way. If I had to start over, I would learn before I began to earn. I was naive and fearless, a combination for disaster. I was fortunate that everything worked out well in the end, but I could have earned more with the right knowledge. Seak out those who are successful in what you want to do, then learn from them first. “

Sincerely,
Laurie Knisely