681: Real Estate Horror Stories: Navigating Six-Figure Losses, Stabbings, and Sewer Problems

There’s a dark side of real estate no one talks about. Crime, destruction, theft, violence—you name it, we’ve dealt with it. With the spookiest day of the year coming close, we’re going to tell you all our terrible real estate tales. Everyone on podcasts and YouTube wants to show you how easy it is to invest, how it’s an assured path to wealth, and rarely what type of mistakes you can make. But we’re flipping the script, bringing in some of the best and brightest in real estate to show that the grass is usually greener where the septic tank is. Today’s guests, who have all collectively succeeded at failing, are Andrew Cushman, Jamil Damji, and Matt Faircloth. If you’ve been a BiggerPockets listener, these names may sound familiar to you, but if you’re brand new, let us introduce you to these industry giants. Andrew is a multifamily expert and one of the smartest names in the game on screening and underwriting (analyzing) properties. Jamil built the nation’s largest wholesaling operation and is an expert guest on On the Market. And Matt, CEO of the DeRosa Group, literally wrote the book on Raising Private Capital. But these titans of industry only made mistakes at the beginning of their careers, right? Not quite. They share today a selection of stories that will make you realize that the only successful investors are the ones who can both literally and figuratively weather a strong storm. And if you think it’s all cash flow and cruises for these investors, you couldn’t be more wrong.  In This Episode We Cover: Why you should ALWAYS check out a property before you buy (and what happens if you don’t) Becoming the "Sheriff" of your investment and how contractors can easily take you for a ride 1031 exchange mistakes and how to negotiate with a seller even when you’re on a time crunch Always staying in your lane and trusting your gut when a deal doesn’t feel right Paying more for insurance and how to financially prepare for a natural disaster  Why even with all the pain, real estate investing is the best wealth vehicle