Hey everybody, welcome back to the show! My guest today is my buddy Mike Fisher out of the Chicago market. Mike owns a large property management company, is an Investor Fuel member, and we’ve been friends for a couple of years now. Today, we are going to talk about the importance of building up a cash flowing rental portfolio and finding a quality property manager. Let’s go ahead and get started!   

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Mike H:What’s up, everybody? Hey, welcome back to the show. Today, we got my buddy, Mike Fisher. If a guy’s named Mike, you know he’s cool and out of Chicago. I actually used to live in Chicago myself. All my family is up in Illinois. Today, we’re going to be talking about . . . Mike runs a large property management business. He’s a member of the Investor Fuel as well. We’ve been friends for a couple of years now.
And, you know, we’re talking about the importance of building up a rental portfolio. And the truth is, you know, it’s a special person like Mike that actually enjoys property management. I hate it myself, so I think you should, you know, outsource it. But I think you should be building up cash flowing rentals because if you’re only wholesaling or rehabbing or some combination of those things and you’re not building up some assets, then at some point, you’re going to look back and you have no other income streams, you just can’t get off that hamster wheel. So we’ll talk about that and we’re going to talk about the importance of finding a quality property manager.
Professional real estate investors know that it’s not really about the real estate. In fact, real estate is just a vehicle to freedom. A group of over 100 of the nation’s leading real estate investors from across the country meets several times a year at the Investor Fuel Real Estate Mastermind to share ideas on how to strengthen each other’s businesses but also to come together as friends and build more fulfilling lives for all of those around us. On today’s show, we’re going to continue our conversation of fueling our businesses and fueling our lives. I’m glad you’re here.
Mike F:Yeah, man, that’s awesome. I love the multiple streams coming through, you know, and the property management, it’s not easy. It’s not like, “But, hey, Mike, I always dreamt of, you know, being as a child growing up, I can’t wait to be a property manager.” Hell, no, man.
Mike H:That was one of your dreams growing up was to be a property manager?
Mike F:No, man.
Mike H:Okay. That was sarcasm. All right, man.
Mike F:I think I wouldn’t have any hair on my head, but I’m super grateful, man. I’m grateful to have an awesome team behind me. It took me a while to get that team. But I tell you what, man? We got systems and processes in place today that we’ve never had before, and it just flows . . . Is there hiccups? Yes, there’s always hiccups. Man, this is real estate, you know?
Mike H:Yeah. Yeah, no doubt. I know. So, Mike, talk a little bit about your background because you didn’t . . . You know, you obviously didn’t start where you are today. How did you involved in real estate, and then how did you get to where you are today?
Mike F:I don’t want to absorb the whole time here, man.
Mike H:Well, take a couple of minutes. Yeah.
Mike F:You know, my background is remodeling and new construction. And in 2003, my body was just taking a beating. And even today, you know, on a scale of one to five, I’m probably right now around a three in pain. You know, it’s just that every single day . . . But I had to find a way out. I figured, man, I’m going to buy a house every year, so 2003, I bought one. 2004, I skipped. 2005, I bought another one. 2006, got hit in the nuts, got a divorce.
And then from there, man, it was just like I was just buying up them all A class communities and I’m like . . . 2009, I educated myself. So now I grab, like, six or seven in A class community. But 2009, I educated myself about the southeast suburbs and jacked it up, man, went all crazy, started buying them up, fixing them, had a relationship with a local little mom-and-pop bank, refi’d the money out, kept on doing it over and over, man. And then, you know, meanwhile, I’m doing this all myself, right?
So about almost three years ago now, I was just hiring some part-time person to come in and do some stuff, but I wanted to grow. And I’m like, “Man, you know, what has somebody got to do to grow here, you know?” So I’m like, “Oh, join a mastermind group.” So I went to this mastermind, and it was a three-day event, and I went . . . You know, I had a burger and a beer. It was out in L.A., and I’m just sitting there enjoying the sun in a February, you know, moment and went in.
And as I walking in, I’m like, “Oh, that’s the dude that’s going to be speaking at the mastermind.” And so he’s having a burger and a beer at the end of the bar. So here I am like, all right. Like, picking his brain. I couldn’t tell you what the hell had happened there in that three days in that mastermind. But that 20 minutes, bro, he gave me a prescription. It said, “Do this, do this, do this.” That was almost three years ago.
Three years ago, I had 28 doors, and I was doing everything myself pretty much, you know, a one-man show. I got 88 doors today, and we manage nearly 350 doors, total with my 88, so, you know, just cranking, man. And the value of these masterminds, you know, Investor Fuel, it may not even be what’s said in there, you know, in the room from somebody talking on a microphone. It maybe something out in the hallway.
It may be something that somebody says at the table, you know, at a breakout table which was really cool, by the way, or it may be something out, you know, having dinner or something. Who knows? Maybe it’s this video here that’s going to encourage you. I don’t know. But I went from 20 . . . So I gained 60 doors in 3 years, and I’m still growing. That’s just that part. That’s just one source of income. Not to mention the source of income just coming in from property management and the maintenance end of it all. So yeah.
Mike H:Yeah, yeah. Well, Mike, don’t try to do the whole show here in three minutes, my friend. Slow down. Slow down. No. Hey, so the important thing there is . . . We’ll come back to masterminds and surrounding yourself with people. One of the important things is, like, you were working hard, you were in the construction side, and you realized like, “Hey, this . . . ”
Whether you’re listening to this and you’re in construction or you’re in something else, like, sometimes you wake up and you realize, “I’m on this trajectory. I’m on this hamster wheel that I can’t get off unless I build up some of other income stream,” right?
Mike F:Right. Yeah.
Mike H:It could be another business. It could be rentals. It could be . . . you know, who knows? It could be anything, right? But for you, that was real estate. Like, you have this vision of, “Hey, if I start stacking up some rentals here, I’m going to have some income now.” We all know and probably you didn’t tell us the whole story, and we don’t have time for the whole story, but you are buying A class properties. I think you probably realize that might be a little tough. They probably didn’t cash flow all that much, right? Or you had a couple of them and you’re like, “Okay. “Well, few hundred bucks a month is cool,” but it’s not . . .
Mike F:That’s right.
Mike H:It’s not going to move the needle for you, right?
Mike F:Right, right, right. Exactly. And then that’s why I had to . . . you know, I educated myself and, like, “Hey, get the hell out of this.” And I still own those homes, you know, because of so many years later, they’re finally cash flowing. I got the equity in them, brought up right through the whole downturn of the market, too, rode it out. You know, like, I got some specific goals.
I’ve got, like, five of them, all on one street, and all, like, one acre lots. So I got two left, man. I got two left that I can’t wait for those people to just get the hell out or die. I know it sounds morbid, but, you know, then I’m going to take them down and put townhomes up, so that’s my goal.
Mike H:Yeah. So let’s talk about, you know, just . . . Share your thoughts a little bit about . . . If we’re talking to investors that are watching this right now, if they are . . . And I know people that are crushing it, they do really well with what I’ll kind of call today money. They’re wholesaling business or rehabbing business or whatever, some combination of both maybe.
But they’re not really putting money away for kind of tomorrow money, long-term stuff which, you know, we’re talking about rentals today. So just talk about the . . . I mean, you’ve been around a lot of investors. You obviously are a manager for a ton of people. Just talk about your kind of lessons learned on stacking those things up. Even though they’re painful sometimes but stacking those things up to help kind of weather the storm or generate kind of long-term wealth.
Mike F:Yeah. Well, you know, it’s been a life lesson really. I mean, we’ve all . . . You know, that’s again . . . I’m going to point back to that’s the benefit of being in a mastermind is . . . being, like, a solopreneur, right? You’re out there just . . . It’s you against the world. And, you know, you’re always failing, fail fast, fail forward, and fail frequently, man. If you’re not failing, you’re not moving. You know, like, I don’t even watch TV. I don’t even own a TV, dude.
So, you know, I went and had a dinner last night and just watched the five minutes of an old series going on. But, you know, like, I think you’ve nailed it. I know you nailed it. You got to have multiple sources coming in. And I looked at it as, you know, the rentals would take me away, it would free me up from swinging a hammer, carrying that drywall, concrete, tile, up and down ladders, you know, destroying my body.
I would never ever want to go back to that nor do I ever have to. So, you know, my goal has always been to have multiple sources of income. So when one is not flowing, the other one is, and hey, when they’re all flowing, that’s even better, you know? And just going to a masterminds, again, it stimulates everything going on, man. You come back, you got fed with a fire hose.
And, you know, just coming back from last week at Investor Fuel, man, I’m just jacked with all this knowledge. And we talked about some stuff before we even got on here that was just, you know, some takeaways that I had. And, you know, somebody just asked me the other, “”Give me your takeaway.” So I’m like, “I don’t even know where to start, man.” Like, you know, it’s still all over the place. So I don’t know if I really answered the question though.
Mike H:Yeah. Well, I think that, you know, what I wanted to get . . . What we talked about and what I wanted to get people to . . . You know, like you said, sometimes when you’re watching a podcast or you’re listening to a podcast like there’s a show like this or you’re at an event or you’re mastermind somewhere else, sometimes, you know, there’s a little nugget that said, “It’s, like, not even why I was there. But somebody said something,” and I was like, “Oh, man.” Like, that’s what I needed, right?
And so I’m hoping that . . . That’s why I want people that are listening to this today to get a couple of those nuggets. One is another wake-up call. Here we are coming into 2020 here pretty quickly that if you’re not building up some . . . And I don’t even want to say passive because these things are not passive but some other cash flowing properties. Just some things that can help you build wealth long-term, in parallel to what you’re doing today if you’re not already doing that, you should be.
And then the other thing that I want to talk about . . . And I know it’s kind of near and dear to your heart is finding the right property management company because I think one thing that real estate investors, guys like us . . . And you’re not like this anymore, and I might be. I don’t know. So is like we’re just cheap. We’re cheap. We’re so trained to do everything cheap. I’ll, like, buy cheap houses. I try to negotiate contractors down. I’m going to buy the cheaper equipment, like all these things.
But what I’ve learned with property management is . . . and I know you know this, too, is sometimes you get what you pay for. Like, I’m not saying that property management is like heart surgery, but if you needed a heart surgery and your life depended on it, the last thing you would be doing is trying to find who has the best price, right? Like, who is going to do this the right way?
Mike F: Oh, man. Yeah.
Mike H:And so I know that’s a little bit of an extreme example. But I think, you know, if your sole concern with property management is price, then you’re going to get what you pay for. And I know you’ve been through that. I know you deal with people. But my point here is, really, for people that are listening to this that are real estate investors, start building up some assets. But most importantly and I’m not saying to find . . . You know, one of the bigger problems that real estate investors have, in my experiences, they try to do it themselves to save money.
And it’s like holy cow, what’s your time worth, right? So talk about that a little bit. Talk about the . . . I mean, obviously, you know, I know you believe in management because you’re doing it yourself. But I think you would probably agree that it’s fine to do it yourself if it’s a business for you. But if it’s, like, a byproduct of like, I’m going to try to save money by doing it myself, like, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Mike F:That’s ridiculous, man. Yeah. If somebody’s out there right now, and I’m sure there is somebody out there right now that is managing their own properties and has a full-time job, I guarantee you you are losing money, and you’re going to lose a lot of hair. You don’t even have a quality life.
Mike H:It’ll change colors, at least.
Mike F:You don’t even have a life, man. Yeah, first, it will turn gray, and then you’ll lose it. But I remember when I had the 28 doors and building up to it, I couldn’t go out to dinner without picking up that phone and, you know, screening, you know, a tenant or something, right? So the value far exceeds the price, and I say that, man, like, there’s companies out there that are inexpensive, and you get what the hell you paid for. And I could tell you in the last year probably . . . I don’t know exactly.
Twenty to thirty people have come over from one particular company. I’m not going to mention the name of the company, of course. One particular company, and they said, “Mike, I can’t believe that you just answered the phone when I call.” So they’re like, “No, I’m with this company here, and they don’t answer the phone.” Or, you know, and I have to leave a message, and I don’t hear back from them for five days later. And the person I called isn’t even the person that’s calling me back.
They’re based out of another state, and I got properties in Illinois. They’re over here like, how are they operating? I’m like, “I know. I know.” They charge $85 a door or something, I think. I’m not sure. We charge a flat rate of $125 a door. It doesn’t matter what the price, you know, what the rent is? It’s just a flat. Communication is key in anything, right? And if you’re not going to communicate, your property manager is waiting five days, and you are in California, it doesn’t matter.
And you’re sitting there like, “What the hell is going on with my house?” Or “Is it vacant, is it occupied, or am I going through an eviction? What’s going . . . ” I couldn’t imagine. I would flip out, and I would just . . . I would go crazy, man. So if your property manager is not communicating, they’re communicating one thing, that they don’t want to communicate. They suck, man. They just freaking suck. So, you know, that’s a big one right there. I pride ourselves on that.
You know, I like to base ourselves as a Nordstrom of property management. We’re not the Walmart. We’re not the Target. We’re the Nordstrom. You know, maybe even between the Target and Nordstrom area. Like, I like to step it up and say that, “Hey, we are the Nordstrom. We are going to return your phone call.” We got our own maintenance crew on staff, keep the cost down low. Unless there is, like, something that, you know, you got to be licensed for, like, a roofing or electrical or something.
But, you know, we’re not going to chance on it, so even, like, maintenance stuff, Mike, like, you know, some companies are going to go out there and throw this cheap ass faucet, a $29 faucet in the, you know, for the bathroom vanity. Three months later, they got to change it out again. Again, my background is remodeling. Me, put the Moen faucet in, pay the 69 bucks or whatever the heck it is. The labor is still the same, so why not just put it in once and be done.
You know, like, Moen’s got that thing. They got the cartridge, put in a new one, done, you know, like, it’s fast, and so things like that are very, very important. And then also, you know, we help people, direct them in the right path of, “Hey, Illinois, you know, is . . . ” All these little things all add up to either increase, they all . . . It has to increase your cash flow or decrease your cash flow, right? So it’s the maintenance side thing, it’s property taxes. We got a guy that helps out on the property taxes, you know, and . . .
Mike H:That’s awesome.
Mike F:Yeah. I mean, things like that. Even the insurance, you know, it’s not anyone thing, it’s multiple things. So when somebody comes onboard with us, you know, we give it all. We’re here to help you guys.
Mike H:And I think it’s important, too. It’s not just costs like how much . . . what percentage do you charge, how much do you charge per door, any of that stuff? I mean, those things are important and they’re important to look at. But it’s, like, who’s behind it, right? So the problem is . . . I know it’s different in Illinois than it’s here in Texas. But, you know, there’s some states where . . . and I’m not going to even go to licensing. Obviously in Illinois, you have to be licensed to do everything, right?
Because it’s like mini California. But at the end of the day, it’s like is that person committed to property management, right? Because, like, I know, and I think there might be some changes that had happened in Texas here over the years where it used to just be, hey, if you’re, like, a licensed agent, you can manage properties, too. And anybody can be a real estate agent, right? So it was like, hey, somebody that’s selling five houses a year, they also managed four properties for people that they say were their customers. Like, four properties, like, first off, they have no experience.
They have no system and processes. It’s all them, so if they’re out of town on vacation or they’re going through something in life or they get hit by a truck or something, like you’re screwed, right? You want to deal with somebody that’s got some bench strength that the person you’re dealing with, the owner, for example, isn’t the person that is doing everything, too, or chasing bills or evicting people or placing tenants. Like, you need a real company that has systems and processes that can be there without any one person, right?
Mike F:Absolutely. And we have that systems and processes in place. As a matter fact, we use Apollo software, and it’s a great software. Don’t get me wrong. And talking about, like, customer service, when we’re vetting through even just what software to use, Apollo was the only one that actually called us back. Like, man, it’s the customer service is a reflection and that even on the sales, right? Like, you would expect somebody at sales is going to be all over you.
Apollo is the only one that called me back. So you go to these little, you know, networking things and stuff, and they got a booth set up. And they’re like, “Oh, well, why didn’t you go with us?” Because you don’t fucking call me back like, your customer service sucks, right? But there’s certain things that Apollo doesn’t do, that we’ve created a whole system that it’s freaking phenomenal. It’s awesome what we have created outside of it. We use smart sheets, and it’s so automated, and it lets people . . .
Like our landscaping crew, if it’s vacant, they get notified that they have to go out and mow the lawn. And when it’s vacant, too, like all the utilities have to get switched over. And so just one checkmark there notifies the person that’s got to take care of the utilities. Little things like that . . . We’ve got a five-step process when the property goes vacant. We go out and clean it out right away so that we can get it on the market. It may not be ready to move in, but we get in there and clean all the crap out.
We know if tenants leave beds and all, you know, whatever they leave a mess. We get in there and clean it out right away, so all of those things are very automated. One checkmark “Boom,” everybody gets notified what to do. That’s not inside Apollo, and so it’s just very automated, systemized. And now we can be faster and more efficient for everybody across the board, get that house back on the market, you know, and get it marketed, and get it cash flowing again, because [crosstalk 00:19:50].
Mike H:Yeah, that’s one thing that I find a lot of investors that if they managing their own or they have a small management company that just doing it as kind of a hobby. That’s one of the things that, you know, it’s like these phantom expenses that you don’t see. It’s like one thing to say, “Hey, I need to replace a ceiling fan.” That’s going to cost $150 with labor and materials, whatever ever it is, right? But it’s another thing to say, “Well, how fast are they turning that property over? It was vacant.”
And do they get it done ready to go in, like, a couple of days or was it, like, three weeks later, it’s ready to go? Like, what did that cost you for that couple of extra, right? I mean, those are huge expenses if you look at it across time, but they usually don’t . . . It’s, like, a reduction in revenue. It’s not an expense. So it’s not hitting you in the face as much, but it’s real, right?
Mike F:It’s real, for sure. And then add that times 88 doors, you know, like . . . Talking about a lot of money, man, you know? And I tell people all the time, “Vacancy kills cash flow. Vacancy kills cash flow.” We do a lot of Section 8. And I know it takes time to go through that process, but you know what? These people, they have vouchers. We clean that house out within 48 to 72 hours. Clean it all out, doesn’t mean the walls are painted or anything. It just means that we clean it out and, you know, mop the floors and get rid of all the trash and stuff and then just start showing it.
Meanwhile, we’re getting a bid out there for the contract. A couple of bids, you know, from the contractors to get back to the investor and say, “Hey, it’s going to be, you know, x amount of money to . . . ” Meanwhile, we’re still showing this property because once we turn in that paperwork to the Housing Authority, we got that clock ticking, too. So we just move everything right, you know, to the finish line so that we can actually get that person in there on time. The house is done. You know, that inspection’s done.
It’s completed, so a win-win across the board. The faster you can move all these processes through, the more your cash flow is going to be. Mike, I failed to mention this earlier. So many people lose that dream. You know, they come over from a shitty property management company, and they’re so upset. But their dream was, “Hey, I’m going to buy cash flowing properties. One day, I’m going to retire off of . . . you know, use this . . . ”
Sorry, guys. One day, I’m going to retire off of this cash flow that’s coming in and, you know, or help this, you know, whatever. And they get so frustrated because that dream just got shattered by crappy property management, and I got people that I [inaudible 00:22:27].
Mike H:And they give up. They give up. They’re like, “Yeah. That doesn’t work. It’s not for me.”
Mike F:Yeah, it’s not for me.
Mike H:What else are you going to do? You know, you’re going to . . . Yeah.
Mike F:Well, that’s one of the things I do though is I share with them like, “Look, don’t give up on your dream. Stay with that dream. Move your property management over to us. Look, you didn’t get where you’re at in six months. You know, it took time. It’s not going to get fixed probably in three to six months. It’s going to take some time. Like, with the right property management in place, you will cash flow.” There’s a guy in Denver. He brought over four duplexes. He’s like, “Mike, I just want to sell them all.”
I’m like, “Dude, you’re going to sell them probably for, like, 50 cents on $1, you know? I mean, like, why would you do that? That’s ridiculous.” I go, “Look.” “You know, it’s because they’re not cash flowing.” I go, “Well, let’s get them cash flowing.” Because nobody wants to buy a turd. You can shine up that, polish that turd, it’s still a turd. Like, why do you want that turd? Like, let’s get you cash flowing. It’s going to take some time. Let’s do it.
You know, he was under some really 50% occupancy and even that 50% wasn’t even . . . He had a lot of issues in that other 50%, so it’s just . . . What a mess? After a month, he’s like, “You know, Mike, I’m actually considering just hanging on to the whole, all of it now.” I’m like, “Cool, man. That’s awesome. That’s what I want.” You know, I want to help people bring back that dream again, you know, the reality.
Mike H:Yep, Yep. You were talking about there. Obviously, that’s a unique situation. Somebody that is a customer of yours, right? But I think getting around people that can help understand your vision, you can share ideas. And, you know, sometimes it could be association. Obviously a mastermind, stuff like that. You know, I’m going to ask you in a second a little bit about Investor Fuel if you don’t mind. But before that, just, like, talk about how people could do that in their markets.
If they own some properties they want to get around, there’s, like, property managers, associations. Obviously, REIA clubs, but a lot of the REIA clubs, you know, are not necessarily people doing deals. But maybe talk about just the importance of educating yourself through podcasts or getting around groups of people that are like you. And how that helps kind of inspire you to move forward?
Mike F:I would strongly suggest, you know, if you’re in a different market, you know, out-of-state, I would strongly suggest just googling, going on BiggerPockets. I know I found many investors that are struggling on BiggerPockets, and they found me, or maybe I’ve reached out to them one way or the other. There’s communities out there, it doesn’t have to be . . . Even in your own backyard that are out there and to help you. And, you know, there’s people in my own backyard that I’ve sold properties to.
And, you know, I go out and have dinner with them or lunch with them or something once in a while, you know, and just shoot some ideas back and forth on managing their properties. You know, it’s a great time. And in my own opinion, I mean, you really need to be particular in who you’re hanging with, right? You know, they can take you down or they can pull you up, man. And I remember this visual of this guy was talking about . . . There’s a Bible verse. I can’t remember.
Anyway, this guy, he’s standing up on stage, and he’s like, “Hey, you know . . . ” And he got this beggar, whatever that’s down below, but the guy up on stage. So who’s going to win? You know, the guy at the bottom or the guy at the top? You’re reaching out to the guy at the bottom, chances are he’s going to pull you down. You know, bad company corrupts good morals, something like this is what is. You know, like, you’ve got to be careful with who you’re hanging out with, man.
You want to hang with high level people that are going to pull you up and take you with them, man, and not just leave you out there and abandon you, you know? And that’s why, you know, we’re having this podcast right now, too, to bring value to people, and helping people find value. And what it is that, you know, that you bring out there every day, and what . . . you know? But I’m staying here, too.
Mike H:Yeah, of course, two good-looking guys talking about awesome stuff. Where’s the value not at, right?
Mike F:That’s right. You’re right. You’re right here.
Mike H:Hey, buddy, so obviously you’ve been a member of Investor Fuel. We’ve known each other for a while now. Maybe if you don’t mind, just share a quick testimonial on your experience with the Investor Fuel family.
Mike F:Yeah, dude, I love . . . You know, I’d mentioned it to you before. I just love how you say, “The Investor Fuel family,” because it really is a family. It’s a network of family of all like-minded people, coming from all walks. You know, we all have a story. And it’s just so encouraging to be around like-minded people that are there to encourage one another and build each other up and take each other to a whole another level and go there with ideas and thoughts.
I remember just sitting around that table and, you know, just going around the table, everybody had a problem. Well, you just bring one, but you don’t . . . You have to bring one problem, you can bring more of it. It’s something that you’re struggling with. And it’s amazing that when you’re sitting there at that table and you got six other guys that are sitting there and whatever, and it’s like all these different ideas just come shooting out at you, and you’re like, “Damn, that’s awesome,” you know, like . . .
So I brought up one, like, because I’m struggling with Facebook marketing. I don’t know crap about it. I just know it works, right? So the guy sitting to the left of me says, “Hey, you got to check out this company here. I know a lot of good things about them.” He goes, “Here. Here’s the email address.” Literally I emailed the guy right there from my from my phone. Within five minutes, I already had an appointment.
Mike H:Awesome.
Mike F:I had a call with him yesterday for about 45 to 50 minutes. So I got my team member on there. Myself, I’m on there. I’m like, “This is rock ‘n’ roll.” Like, perfect. You know, like, he brought me right to it. You know, there’s another person. I was looking for somebody to build a website for me. And so, you know, not that long ago, and somebody in Investor Fuel recommended this person, and I’m still using him. So the value, man, is everything you need is, like, right there within this group, right here within the family, right?
It’s all there. You just have to tap into it and allow yourself to be vulnerable and not be, “Look at me.” It’s not about that. It’s about giving, man. You know, it’s not about . . . I’m the smartest guy. You don’t want to be the smartest dude in the room, right? You know, you want to learn from other people and have takeaways and go and do it and repeat and do it again.
Mike H:If you think back to your first meeting, Mike, did you feel, like, you know, when nobody knows what to expect, but just that giving culture there, did it make you, like, want to give more? I mean, I know sometimes people are, like, they’re like there. I’m here to learn. I’m here to meet some people. That’s fine. But then you’re like . . . You find sometimes you get so much value. You’re like, “Man, I want to add back even more.” Like, how can I reciprocate, right?
Mike F:Yeah. Absolutely, man. I felt like I couldn’t give enough. I’m exploding with, “I want to help, I want to help, I want to help, I want to help,” right? “And please ask me a question. Maybe I can help you,” right? But that’s what I love about that table. I just keep on emphasizing. You know, I don’t know how many tables I’ve served. Maybe eight or so or tables and, you know, different groups and stuff, and you organized it. I really enjoyed that. That was awesome.
Mike H:Awesome.
Mike F:Looking forward to the one where it’s even more defined. Maybe Airbnb and multi-family and stuff. That’s exciting because you can just jump into that table and everybody . . . You know, maybe you got to struggle with . . . I know I got three Airbnbs in Scottsdale, and I went through my struggles with the HOAs, and it’s like, “Fuck you, HOAs.” Man, they pissed me off.
And I know I can bring value with somebody that maybe going through with what I just went through. You know, I found a way out. I loopholed through it. So, you know, it’s the little things like that that brings such huge value. And if somebody is going to complain about the cost of what it is, then, you know, well, then it’s not for you.
Mike H:Yeah. You know, we try to add so much value that the cost is irrelevant, right?
Mike F:Exactly.
Mike H:This is what we’re trying to do, so . . . Awesome, Mike. But thank you for that. So let me ask you, we didn’t mention that . . . If it wasn’t explicitly clear. Like, Mike is a property manager in Illinois and Chicago areas. So if you need any help, you could reach out to him. But, Mike, if folks want to . . . You got a podcast. You got a property management business. You know, you got all kinds of stuff going on, so if folks wanted to connect with you, where would they go?
Mike F:Well, so it’s Mike Fisher, right? So I got MF Cashflow, so it could be Mike Fisher Cashflow or mother fucking cashflow.
Mike H:Dot com.
Mike F:Dot com. All right. All right. I could give you dot com some credit.
Mike H:All right. And when they get there, they can learn more about, obviously, your podcast and links to your property management company and all that there. That’s something I’m sure . . .
Mike F:Absolutely. And if they want to reach out to me, go ahead, and reach out to me right there.
Mike H:Thanks so much, buddy. Thanks for sharing your story and some of the information with everybody today.
Mike F:Absolutely, man. Any time, brother. Any time, look forward to having you on my podcast soon.
Mike H:Let’s do it. Let’s do it. Yeah. And for those of you who listen, you know, at the end of the day, we just want you guys to be successful. At the end of the day, real estate change. My life, it’s changed. Mike’s life . . . For a lot of the people that I surround myself with, it’s changed our life unlike, probably anything else could do, right? And so we want that for you, too, and so if you’re listening in, hopefully this hit home a little bit with what you need to do. Moreover, maybe what you need to do less of, like, you know, who knows?
Sometimes those kinds of gifts or nuggets that come to you could be in the form of what to do or even what not to do, right? So appreciate you guys a ton. If you haven’t yet left us a review on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, YouTube, anywhere you could possibly watch or listen to the show at, we would appreciate if you could do that. It adds a lot of value. To me, it’s kind of the fuel that keeps me going. So if you haven’t already checked out the Investor Fuel Mastermind, if you’re not yet a member, go to investorfuel.com, and you could learn more. We would love to jump on a call and tell you little bit more about it if you think you’re a fit. So other than that, we’ll see you on the next episode. Take care.
Are you an active real estate investor? If so and when you want to latch onto the power of surrounding yourself with over 100 of the nation’s leading real estate investors, all committed to building stronger businesses and living richer, fuller lives, you should jump on a call with us to learn more about Investor Fuel. Simply visit investorfuel.com to get started.

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