How She House Hacked Her Way to Leaving Her 9-5 Job with Kendra Barnes

<p>“We were living well, but we weren’t building wealth.” This describes Kendra Barnes’s life before she took the plunge into real estate, house hacking, creating her business, and, yes, building that wealth. What started as a duplex in Washington, D.C. would become a well-rounded real estate portfolio and the founding of Kendra’s company, The Key Resource. Not only does Kendra generate income from rental properties, but she also offers coaching and course resources for beginner real estate investors trying to earn their own passive income.</p><p>Kendra admits that house hacking was an adjustment when she and her husband started renting properties. But adjusting and refining are key characteristics that have allowed Kendra’s real estate know-how to grow over time. Whether learning about the right renovations for a property, navigating her family’s reactions to her real estate investments, or coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, staying adaptable has made Kendra a savvy and agile landlord and wealth builder.</p><p>Tune into this week’s episode of the Real Estate InvestHER Show for a conversation with Kendra about how she built her business and portfolio. Learn invaluable tips for leaving your 9-5 job, how to pivot with life’s changes, and about the game night that changed it all for Kendra.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Quotes</strong></p><p>•&nbsp;“I got into real estate investment super randomly. I do not come from a family of real estate investors, I do not come from a wealthy family. I come from a middle-class, military family.” (07:42-07:51)</p><p>•&nbsp;“I played a game one day […] and I had a wake up call playing that game because I had never considered the idea of passive income.” (07:53-08:06)</p><p>•&nbsp;“[House hacking] was really a struggle […] but what kept me together through it was once I started seeing the cash flow and I’d go into work on those really bad days—just the freedom knowing I could walk out of there if I wanted to.” (29:46-30:14)</p><p>•&nbsp;“Now that I’m older and wiser, when I ide