218: How To Become a Professional Remote Real Estate Investor with Michael Albaum

With today’s technology, becoming a real estate investor is possible without ever seeing the properties you buy. This is the path many would-be investors take when they live in more expensive areas like California. Today’s guest is one such investor. On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan sits down with Michael Albaum, a professional real estate investor with over 12 years of experience. Michael is an Airbnb Superhost and the founder of myFI, which stands for financial independence. Jonathan and Michael begin their conversation by delving into Michael’s path to remote investing through a property in Southern California. Michael shares how he began to scale his business as he better understood costs in various parts of the country. You’ll hear how coliving with roommates helped Michael get his business off the ground, the importance of finding an unbiased party to evaluate properties for you remotely, and what drew him to multifamily and mixed-use properties as he expanded. He also outlines the difference between financial independence and financial freedom, the benefits of retaining a W2, and Michael’s recommendation to put in offers on homes even when you know they will be rejected. Finally, he shares why he loves midterm rentals and what he sees changing for them in the future. Real estate can be prohibitively expensive for investing in some parts of the country, but Michael Albaum teaches others how to find investing opportunities in lesser-known areas and create opportunities to build a legacy. In this episode, you will hear: Michael Albaum’s path to remote investing and his early interest in real estate The fears surrounding remote investing and how systems can help mitigate the fear His first property in Southern California and how his dad helped him evaluate the property with numbers instead of emotions Scaling the business and understanding costs in various parts of the country Coliving and community living while investing in real estate Finding an unbiased eye to help evaluate properties for you when buying remotely Moving into multifamily and mixed-use The difference between financial independence and financial freedom and the role a W2 plays in that Why it’s okay not to have all the answers when you start and making offers you know will be rejected The importance of firsthand experience Michael’s plans for the future and his focus on his coaching and education business What he likes about midterm rentals versus short-term and long-term Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, we've created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at https://zenandtheartofrealestateinvesting.com/podcast/218/ to download it. Supporting Resources: myFI academy - www.myfiacademy.com Find Michael Albaum on Instagram - www.instagram.com/myfimike Connect with Michael on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/michaelalbaum Michael on X - x.com/MichaelAlbaum Website - www.streamlined.properties YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene Zillow - www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties Email - info@streamlined.properties Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.