My private money lenders were happier than my turnkey investors.
That made no sense to me at first. My turnkey investors had done it exactly the way you're supposed to: bought a property that was already renovated and rented, handed the keys to a property manager, and expected to just collect a check. A real asset. Cash flow on paper. Everything I thought passive real estate was supposed to be.
The private money lenders just had a check in the mail.
But the private money lenders were happy. And the turnkey investors were exhausted.
I had to figure out why. Because what I found out changed everything about how I do business.
Let me back up.
Freedom.
When I was young, and didn't really understand what life was all about, I thought what I wanted was money.
I thought money was going to solve all my problems.
I said to myself: I'll be able to take care of my parents. I'll get to whatever my heart desires. I'll never have to worry about money.
I never actually thought money was hard to come by. For some reason, money always had this sense of ease associated with it. I didn't fear spending it. I instinctively knew money had to flow for it to grow.
What drove me was the desire to help more people than just myself. I saw too many people struggling as I grew up, and I had this deep desire to make sure everyone I touched felt a sense of freedom. Being taken care of. Peace. Calm.
As I write that, I let out a sigh. That's the feeling that's so easy for me to remember and tap into.
I believe we're all here for a purpose. What that purpose is, is usually the thing that brings us the most joy.
It's actually one of my favorite questions to ask people. What brings you the most joy?
Because that answer is usually the superpower that person can bring the world.
But how do we achieve that purpose if we're in a constant struggle chasing what we don't understand?
A great career and title we think might make us happy, but maybe we're not sure.
A made-up financial number we chase, thinking it will finally be enough. It never is. The finish line keeps moving.
Are you with me?
I lived it too. But it never felt right.
As I built nine companies, something always felt wrong, despite my deep love for building businesses.
Here's the story that led to the light bulb moment you just read.
From Cruise Ships To Real Estate
My husband Flip and I were art auctioneers on cruise ships.
We both started as trumpet players. We met when our ships got diverted to the same port during a hurricane. We played professionally for years before we became art auctioneers.
Over a decade at sea. Traveling the world. Seeing more of it than most people see in a lifetime.
But here's what I didn't tell people back then.
I Felt Poor
I grew up in a really wonderful family. Two parents who told me I could do anything. A church community. A childhood full of love.
And the entire time, I felt poor.
Honestly, I still see it that way looking back. Our houses were nice because we moved a lot and lived in government housing we got at a steep discount.
We were always taken care of. But I watched other families take vacations we couldn't take. Buy things we couldn't buy.
And that feeling of not having enough never really left me.
So that feeling is what made me chase money. Not for the object. For the impact.
I wanted to take care of myself, take care of my family, and give back the way my parents had given to everyone else.
So I worked. And then 2008 hit.
The Year Everything Collapsed
The art auction business, Flip's livelihood, collapsed. People weren't buying fine art while people around the country were losing their homes.
So I tried real estate.
And I fell in love.
The first eight months as Realtors were brutal. No network. No deals. No income. We burned through almost everything we'd saved.
So we became investors instead.
Shoestring budget. Marketing letters photocopied on bright neon paper because we couldn't afford anything else. Knocking on doors. Making deals work that probably should have fallen apart.
While the rest of the country was waiting for clarity, we were already moving.
Eighteen Years. Over A Thousand Properties.
Every company we built, we built out of necessity.
A renovation company because contractors were ripping us off. A property management company because the ones we were hiring didn't really care whether our investors got paid. A brokerage. An acquisitions company.
Every time something failed our investors, we built the company that would fix it.
And that brings me back to where this story started.
Why The Lenders Were Happier Than The Owners
The turnkey investors had everything you're supposed to want. A property. A property manager. Cash flow on paper.
But they were tired.
They had to approve tenants. Approve expenses. Review statements. Babysit the property management company.
And when a tenant left and trashed the unit? They were the ones eating the vacancy. The rehab. The holding costs. The leasing fee.
All while their property manager kept getting paid.
The cash flow they were promised disappeared the first time something went wrong.
Meanwhile, my private money lenders just got a check.
Their money was at work. Real estate was backing it. They weren't approving anything or fixing anything or worrying about anything.
They got paid. And they got on with their lives.
That's when it hit me.
I Had Been Selling Exhaustion In A Nicer Wrapper
I had spent years building those companies trying to give my investors freedom.
And what I was actually giving them was a second job.
That hurt.
I had been telling them they were buying passive income. The truth is, they were buying my exhaustion model with my logo on it.
And I didn't see it until I looked at who was actually happy.
What I Built Once I Finally Saw It
When I got introduced to syndications and funds, everything came together.
I'd finally found a way to give every investor what my private money lenders had. Real assets. Real returns. Real freedom. Not a second job.
And here's something important.
This model was better for my investors. It was better for me too.
When I shifted from scattering single-family rentals across markets to owning hundreds of units in one place, everything changed. Centralized maintenance. Centralized management. Centralized operations.
All of the economies of scale that single-family could never give me.
Single-family wasn't scalable for me as an operator. And it wasn't truly passive for my investors. Commercial multifamily fixed both problems at the same time.
Here's What I Want Every Working Professional To Hear
You don't have to figure this out alone.
You don't have to spend years in exhaustion before you find the model that actually works.
You don't have to do it yourself.
And you don't have to fall into the traps of "passive income" that isn't actually passive.
You just have to find a team you can trust to do all the work for you.
I've spent my whole life chasing money for the impact it could have. And the hard lesson I had to learn is that more work was never going to be the path to more freedom. Not for me. And not for the people I was trying to serve.
The path was finding people who'd already built it and trusting them to carry it.
That's what we built at Freedom Family Investments.
And that's the freedom I want for others.