34. The Real Reason You're Afraid to Invest in Real Estate with Heather Enciso

What if the thing holding you back from investing isn’t the market—but the fear, anxiety, and stories you’ve carried about money your entire life?

In this episode, Lindsay sits down with Heather Enciso, a licensed clinical social worker, real estate investor, queer Filipina, and first-generation American, to explore the powerful connection between financial anxiety and real estate investing.

Heather shares how growing up in an immigrant household shaped her beliefs about money, why COVID-19 became the catalyst that pushed her toward investing, and how she went from knowing almost nothing about assets and wealth-building to owning multiple multifamily properties across Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Together, they dive into the emotional side of investing that rarely gets discussed—fear, scarcity, self-doubt, and the challenges many first-generation investors, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of color face when entering spaces where they don’t see themselves represented.

Heather opens up about her journey into house hacking, how she leveraged low-down-payment financing to acquire properties faster, and why delayed gratification and sacrifice played a major role in building her portfolio. She also shares how she manages the anxiety that comes with making large financial decisions and explains the difference between a genuine intuition warning and a fear-based response.

You’ll hear an honest conversation about overcoming mental blocks, finding supportive communities, learning to trust yourself, and creating systems that help you make sound financial decisions without letting anxiety take over.

Heather also reveals the deeper motivation behind her investing journey: creating financial freedom not just for herself, but for her mother, whose sacrifices made her opportunities possible.

If you've ever felt intimidated by real estate, struggled with financial anxiety, or questioned whether investing is truly for people like you, this episode will give you the mindset shifts, encouragement, and practical strategies you need to move forward.

Ready to stop letting fear make your financial decisions and start building wealth with confidence? This conversation is for you.

Connect with Heather:

• Instagram
• Website

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

The real reason you are investing in real estate yet may not be because you can find the right property. It's not the interest rate or if the interest rate is too high. It's not even the numbers. Sometimes the problem is the fear has stressed itself up as I just need to do more research. So today we're talking about how to unaddress anxiety, worry, fear that can affect your ability to buy real estate investments, especially when you are a first gen, a woman of color, queer, coming from an immigrant family or someone who was taught that debt was dangerous. And to help us discuss that, we're bringing Heather and Ciso, a real estate investor, licensed clinical social worker, queer Filipina, first immigration American, my friend, and a real estate owner who understands both the money side and the nervous assistance side. Because yes, we need deal analysis, but we also need to talk about why your chest gets tight when you think about making an offer. This episode is about what happens when anxiety, worry, and fear are quietly running the show behind your investing decision. Welcome, Heather. Thank you for being here. And so we are talking about how financial anxiety is and also how you got into real investing. Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Where do you invest and what they invest in?

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Well, first, thank you, Lindsay, for allowing me to be part of your podcast. So my name is Heather Hernandez and CISO. I'm a licensed clinical social worker. That's what I do in terms of my regular job. I have my own private practice where I assist people with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and I really specialize and focus in LGBTIQ, which means lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, et cetera. So that's what I do. And in terms of where I invest, I do invest in small multifamily. So the reason I do that is because when you invest in, let's say, a single family home or a multifamily, such as like two to four, you can still qualify for a conventional loan. And you can put 5% down, right? If it's a conventional loan. And that's why I do that because I like the strategy. So in terms of where I invest, my first triplex that I ever bought is in Cleveland, Ohio. It's in a suburb South Euclid. So that was my first triplex that was a full investment property that is a triplex when I purchased it, fully occupied with tenants. I know that a lot of investors feel kind of conflicted when they buy a property where they inherit tenants because of horror stories, squatter stories. I did buy it knowing that those are some of the potential risks. But overall, when I look back, I'm glad that I did buy it with tenants. There has been turnover. I was going to potentially do an eviction, but they did leave beforehand. So that's the first property. The first property I did buy in South Euclid, a suburb in Cleveland, Ohio. That I purchased in August 2024. So that was the first triplex that I bought, or first property in general. The second property, also a triplex, but that was a house hack. I basically lived in one unit, the third unit, and then the two other units, unit one and unit two, were also occupied by tenants. So that was the second triplex. And then most recently, I did purchase a duplex over in Pittsburgh as well. More of a borough, Wilkinsburg. So it's adjacent to Regent Square, but it is technically in Pittsburgh, but a borough called Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

What is your earliest memory of financial education?

SPEAKER_00 3:52

So to be honest, I can't recall any formal education from my mother. I I was raised by a single parent mother. The only thing that I remember was save your money. I just save, save. And I know that has to do a lot with the fact that she's an immigrant from Philippines, and her main focus was just to survive, survival and assimilating to the culture. So I never received any education from my mother in terms of assets, right? Acquiring assets, investing. The main message I heard was save your money. Did I save it? Not really. I think I would purchase maybe Spice Girls candy, you know, instead of like saving it and buy magazines, right? Because I'm a millennial and I would buy stuff that I didn't need to buy, right? I could have saved that money, possibly put it into shares or put it in a high yield savings account. But I wasn't educated on high yield savings account. I wasn't educated on the S P 500. I wasn't educated on, hey, let's build generational wealth. What I do know is that during COVID-19, I was scared shitless, right? Like even though I had a good job and I was a director of behavioral health, and I was like, oh my God, I'm moving up the trajectory, right? As an LCSW, as a licensed clinical social worker, I was still so terrified. I had so much financial anxiety because a lot of our projects or mental health or behavioral health programs are funded by either SAMHSA, right? So they're like state or federal. And I was scared that, oh my God, we could lose funding. So COVID really scared me. And so I know that's why I got obsessed with like bigger pockets and just learning about different investments and different asset classes. So I didn't receive any formal like education where it's like, Heather, let's sit down, let's talk about assets, let's talk about compound interest, let's talk about high yield savings account. I didn't get any of that. I was like, just save your money, or that's too expensive. Everything is too expensive. Till this day, right? My mom is like, How much does that cost? And I'm like, I'm gonna, I every time we go out, I I I buy you everything, okay? Like I pay for the bill. Like, don't worry how much the Hamachi or Yellowtail is, or right, or the unagi. Like, I got it, right? So to answer a question, I really didn't receive the education, but COVID-19 really did scare me.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Yeah, I definitely empathize with your COVID-19 experience because as an immigrant, as well as a first gen, like there are really no resources because everybody around you and your community, they're kind of like trying to make it, right? Like even going to college, getting a job, you know, staying on your job, choosing a secure job, like that's out like goal number one. And during COVID, as well, I was like faced with like, oh my god, what is like if I don't have this job, like what is it gonna be with my life? Like, how long can I survive? And then can I do something else? Like, do do I even have the skills to do anything else than this job, right? And then, like, you was forced to look into different investment strategies. But it takes a lot of courage to do that because a lot of people have fear and then they just go into like the fetal position, and then they're just like pretend like nothing is happening, you know, become avoidant, or like us become extremely stressed, anxious, and we go into like action plan action mode. But you're in best strategy, it's quite interesting because house hacking is a term that we've been hearing from Vaker Pockets, from anywhere that you like listen to real estate podcasts. And I just wanted to explain a little bit what is house hacking and how does it make sense for you?

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Yes, absolutely. So, house hacking is a really great strategy for people, but you do have to make a sacrifice. And so I think it's really important when we talk about real estate investing that we do identify the importance of delayed gratification and sacrificing, right? I'm not saying to deprive yourself, right? But there will be sacrifice that's involved in terms of building wealth, right? So, so house hack in the most simplistic terms, it's it's when you live in a property and maybe you rent out the rooms. Let's say you buy a single family home and maybe you convert the garage, or maybe you live in one bedroom and then you have all these housemates, right? Or roommates that's where single family. So in my case, I bought a triplex over in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And when I did buy that, it was already fully occupied. But the tenant in unit three did have to move because I had to move there because that's my primary home. So with house hack, the really cool thing is that you could buy a home, right? Remember, you have up to two to four units, because that still qualifies you for a conventional loan. And you could put 5% down. So I remember just wanting to figure out strategies, right? Because to save 20 to 25% down for an investment property, it just takes time, right? Even if it's out of state. And I know that you and I are both from California, right? And so when we look at other states, it's like, oh my gosh, right. But but it's still a lot of money. And I know for me, even if it's just, you know, let's say 50,000, like that, that's a lot of money to save, but you really have to stay disciplined. So I put answered your question in terms of house hacking. If it's a single family home, you can live in one room, rent out the others. It's a way to reduce your cost, or even maybe be able to have the mortgage fully paid, right? And then in my case, I was living in a triplex, living in one unit, basically, like the attic that was converted. And those two other tenants were able to help me pay off my mortgage. However, my mortgage wasn't fully accounted for, right? Like I still had to pay a portion because the two tenants didn't pay off my full mortgage.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Yes, because one of the two highest bills that you can have is housing costs and transportation costs, right? If you're able to eliminate that housing cost or at least minimize the housing cost, that leaves you with a lot of room when you're receiving your paycheck, when you're accounting for your fixed expenses, is that you have room to breathe. And then when you're eliminating that like huge cost, then there's money overflow that you could potentially save, invest, spend, or look into other investment strategies. And that's why a lot of people think about housekeeping and they say, Oh, I'm not gonna do that, because then that means I won't have comfortability, I won't have my own space, and I won't have those things. But like you mentioned, sacrifice means that you're able to compromise something for a little bit less. So you have to look at what is important for you and what are your priorities. And like you, you move from California to a different state to make that extra compromise as well to like get into that first riflex. What would you say is a mental block you see holding minority investors back when they ever look at a spreadsheet?

SPEAKER_00 11:00

So I'll just talk about myself. I know that for me, I didn't have role models, right? I when when I heard or saw investors, they were affluent people. They were not people from communities of color, right? And if they were, those families have probably been like multiple generations that have been in America. So for me, I'm first gen, right, queer, Cilipina American. My mom obviously she did buy a house, but we didn't have conversations. And I think for me personally, when I looked around when I would attend these meetups, because it's very encouraged in like bigger pockets, attend the meetups, right? For real estate, I was like, okay, like there may be a sprinkle of like women of color, but the majority are white men. And I think it's important to talk about this, right? Like, we just need we need to talk about representation. And so I would get very, very intimidated. I mean, I remember in the beginning, I was like, I don't even belong in this space. No one here looks like me. I'm also an LCSW. Everyone here is like an agent, they do syndication deals, right? They raise capital, someone's a general contractor. I'm a fish out of water, I'm an LCSW, right? Like that's what I do full time. So for me, I think those are some of the mental blocks. But in terms of like first generation, I think definitely not being educated, not being exposed to the resources, not being informed. And a lot of times when people come from communities of color where they're just trying to survive, I mean, if we kind of use like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, they're just thinking of basic needs. They're not necessarily thinking of, okay, how do I invest? Right. Like first, people have to be able to meet their basic needs: food, shelter, water, insurance, right? Do they have access to resources? I think it's really important to identify that not everyone is born in the same playing field. And so those are some of the mental blocks that I see.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

Yeah, totally agree with you. And it's very hard to get over that hurdle because in your mind, you're like, well, there's no way there's space for me there. There's no way they don't look like me. They don't haven't seen my struggles, they haven't walked my path, they don't have like the pressures that you have as a Christian. They don't have to carry their parents with them. You know, they don't have to carry if you have children, your children with them. And you feel like, well, that's almost impossible, right? And there's this big like looming thing, even in the fire community, even in the financial education space online, even people that are you know putting contests about I was like that. You have to put 20% down to acquire a first house. Because if you don't put 20% down, you're throwing your money away. What do you say to those people? And in the community that talk about financial education for us.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

So, in terms of the fire community, I do subscribe to that because I would love, you know, financial dependence retire early, right? I again, COVID-19 is the catalyst. It really scared the shit out of me, right? It was like, oh my God, I went to school and I could still lose my job. Like nothing is secure. So I think it's really important for people to get educated and understand that you don't have to put 20% down, right? I mean, are there advantages? Sure. There's advantages and disadvantages to putting 5% down versus 20% down. But as I mentioned earlier for my second investment property, I was able to put only 5% down. So that meant that I could acquire another triplex faster, right? It wouldn't take me like three to five years. I was like, you know what? I can get in. And I mean, my family thought I was kind of crazy, right? They're like, you just closed in August and now it's December, you're closing again. And I was like, I found a strategy. So I encourage people, right? Obviously run the numbers, but also keep in mind if you can get a place, if you can get another investment property, and yes, there will be a PMI because you're putting 5% down as opposed to 20. However, if you get a conventional, the more you pay, right? You could eventually take out what was it, the the PMI, I believe. Because I think if you buy, I think uh don't quote me, but I think if it's like an FHA, you have that PMI forever. But a conventional, not necessarily the more you pay off. So I think it's really important for people to understand that there's various strategies to acquisitions and really doing the numbers and seeing, like, okay, what can they do? Because you could always put 5% down as opposed to 20, and that'll give you the ability to acquire more properties to build out your portfolio.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Yeah. Because if you were to compare it as well, and this is like by no means saying putting 20% down is wrong. We're not saying that. It's completely okay to put 20% down at primary married home, even if you're househacking, even if you're going to live there forever, like it's completely fine. But don't let that turn down from getting into the real estate market that you want because you see the potentials of investing that to save that 20% down and then to think that PMI is throwing your money away. You run your numbers, and it's not wrong, but there's also that's why it's so like great that we have those non-products too, like FHA and like conventional, where you can put less down and potentially even get into the market with uh let's say a fixer opera where you're gonna fix your house and your appraisal would go up because you're repairing or adding a bedroom or finishing the kitchen or whatever you're doing, that the equity you're building up may get rid of your PMI sooner than later. But those are techniques that people don't usually talk about, and people are not like so forthcoming with the how they got into the first home or how actually how long they took somebody to save 20% down. Like if you think about California or any other high cost of living area, 20% down can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Absolutely. Thank you for clarifying that because you're absolutely right. I I mean, I don't want people to get the message that putting 20 or 25% down is a bad strategy. No, absolutely not. My first property, I did have to put 25% down, but for me to easily acquire another one, that's why I did a house hog, right? Because I could do it as a primary and qualify to put 5% down. So the second property, 5% down, and then the third property, the one that I just closed on in May, that I did put 20% down, but that was a DSCR loan. So that was not even conventional.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

For somebody whose cultural background or family history is rooted in a scarcity, how do you distinguish a gut feeling or so-called intuition to a fear response when evaluating a deal?

SPEAKER_00 18:03

So I think it's really important to distinguish the two, right? In terms of what is more of fear versus more as like what is intuition. And when I think of fear for myself, I really go inward. So I periodically check in with myself throughout the day, and especially when I'm going to purchase a property, right? Because I could run my numbers, right? That then I will always check in with myself and see what's happening to my body somatically. Right. So if for me, fear means urgent, I might have some catastrophic thoughts, I might hyperphyxate, I might start to ruminate. Whereas my intuition, I feel more at ease and more grounded. So I highly recommend that people check in with themselves and do a self-assessment, right? Like, okay, if you're feeling fear, examine the fears. Ask yourself, why am I fearful? What is scaring me? What's the worst possible case scenario? Am I over-leveraged, right? Like, okay, if I were to close this, how many months do I have in reserves? Oh shit, I have uh one month. Okay, maybe this is not the best deal, right? I mean, there are some people that just over-leverage, and kudos to them. They could do that. I'm fiscally conservative. I'm very open that when it comes to purchasing a property, I do get anxious. And I'm not gonna deny that, right? Like I own it, I take ownership of it. So I really like to check in with myself and I I encourage people when they're trying to assess if it's like a gut feeling, right, versus fear. Okay, look at your numbers, right? And then maybe even write down a few questions and then take some time to really write down your responses, right? Is my fear based in reality, right? Or is my fear based on maybe I'm catastrophizing, I'm magnifying a situation? Because sometimes people might say, Oh no, I don't want to buy this. What if it burns? What if there's a hurricane? What if there's a flooding? Sure, there's natural disasters, right? I mean California, we have pick your poison. What natural disaster do you want? Unfortunately, we have fires and we have earthquakes, but the real estate is still booming, right? So I think really take the time to assess, okay, what are you feeling? And what is this telling you about yourself? And what is it telling you about your anxiety, your fears, your worries? And are they legitimate concerns? Because sometimes our brain can't distinguish what is actual danger versus perceived danger. So that's why I when I'm working with my clients, I really encourage them to take time to pause and not engage out of impulsivity, right? Don't just quickly make a decision. Give yourself time to reflect and process. Now I know not everyone's gonna do that, but I personally encourage it.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

I totally understand because the first thing is like going into any business, I guess you would have to do this of like knowing what your skills are. Are you a person that's driven and takes action right away? Or are you a person that takes time and needs to like evaluate and talk to people and really like pamper yourself before running into something, right? And I encourage everybody to look at like what are your skills, what are your strengths and what your flaws. And if you have loss, for example, in the past, have you been impulsive? Then to have those safety measures, like if I am impulsive, then maybe a safety measure would be like I need to look at this for a week prior to making a decision, or I need to talk to two people about it prior to making a decision, or I need to check in my finances, like you said, prior to making a decision. If that is like one of the things that you know about yourself, and maybe encourage taking feedback from other people, right? Like maybe people around you ask them, like, what do you think about this? But also, I think that's a tricky technique because in our circles. Nobody does real estate, right? In our community, the community that we choose to integrate into, maybe they do real estate, but the community that's surrounding us, like I only have so far in field that I know people invest in real estate. So do go to the people that are experienced and not people that are fearful and are gonna deter you back from doing something that's gonna, you know, make you successful in the future or is gonna take some kind of sacrifice because they're gonna definitely draw you back. But yeah, it's pretty hard, like you said, to separate intuition versus fear response. And so my recommendation was like know yourself first.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Absolutely, absolutely, right? Like self-awareness, self-assessment that's essential just to living life, right? And having an quality of life. And then I wanted to add, I mean, I remember when I was about to close on a triplex that I was gonna house hack in Pittsburgh. I remember I was so anxious. I was having migraines and I consulted with you. And, you know, you talk about support system, right? But actually utilizing your support system and making sure that those people are actually investors as well, right? So it was so helpful. I remember I called you and we we met via Zoom, and that was very, very helpful because I was anxious. I was like, I don't even think I should buy this anymore. Like, it's knob and tube. I didn't know what the hell knob and tube wiring was, right? And I'm like, oh my god, this is expensive. I'm out, I'm not gonna be part of this deal anymore. What I thought was the deal was gonna be at a minimum $30,000 to $40,000 of just fixing the electrical wiring.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

I totally understand then. Know when you're overextending yourself, right? And like, because everybody has a different risk to learn, and some people are handy, some people are not, some people need to contract everything. You and I have very demanding no-ly-too's and we have like enough hex again already in a day-to-day basis, and having that luminoen over your shoulders is just like additional pressure that now we see where the sacrifice meets a line, right? Is this too much sacrifice? So that's where we'll go on. Yeah. Once you obtain your first triplex, how long did it take you to pursue your next project?

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yes. So the first triplex that I bought that was in Cleveland. That was August 2024. And then I guess it was about four months because I did close on the house hack in December of 2028. But I we did have to give the tenant time to move out. So it was just a few months after I closed on the first property, because again, I did a house hack, right? So that was a strategy that allowed me to put only five percent down opposed to saving, you know, 25% or 20%. Because if I had not done the house hack strategy, then it would have taken me longer. I would suspect maybe a year or two, opposed to a few months.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

And since you are the first one you put 25% down, the second one you put 5%, how are you funding your deals?

SPEAKER_00 25:16

So I'm just working hard and saving. I'm not raising any capital, I'm not getting any money from private investors or any hard money loans in terms of the down payment. That's all me just working really hard and saving a lot of money as much as I can.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

So a lot of a sacrifice comes with that.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

Yes, yes. A lot of clients, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of delayed gratification, you know, not going out to eat as much, right? I mean, I know you and I live in LA and there's just so much to do, right? But I gotta say no to temptation because I know that long term I really want to build up my portfolio so that I could achieve fire. What has real estate taught you on by yourself? So real estate has really taught me that even if I get anxious, I could still accomplish my goals. I've been able and I want to be able to maintain them, right? My properties, right? So real estate has really taught me that although I get anxious, although I might get scared and nervous and even feel unqualified, I do make sound decisions. And so I think it's really important when people that are new investors, right? Maybe they haven't purchased their property. You know, it's really important that you learn to trust yourself. But of course, as you mentioned earlier, having guardrails in place, right? Maybe having a system, okay, before we just act out of impulse, why do we want to invest in this? And then really looking at your reserves and consulting with professionals and people who have already done it. So real estate has really taught me that I do have the ability to be disciplined, to stay focused, and again, delay gratification. So to me, I'm hoping that I I mean, I know that I will continue this. And as Michael Zuber says, like kind of like the five years suck, but right, if you at a minimum 10 years, like you'll reap the benefits, right? It just takes time, and that's really important. Uh, real estate for me has really taught patience.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

Likewise, too. It's giving me the evidence to know that I can be successful. And a lot of people talk about like having a strong drive and a strong motivation and a strong reason to be doing this because, like you said, it takes a lot of discipline, it takes some sacrifice. It is simple, but it's not easy. And a lot of investors have like a strong desire to fulfill fire, to fulfill everything. But what is the thing that's driving you? What is your why?

SPEAKER_00 27:49

My why is my mom. So I am so appreciative and so grateful for her because I mean, she immigrated here to America, and so she's originally from the Philippines. And Philippines, although it's beautiful and has its beautiful parts of its culture, it's very corrupt. The government is very corrupt, so poverty is very, very high there. So she is the reason why I do what I do in terms of working hard, wanting to attain financial stability, wanting to build out my portfolio. I really gain so much satisfaction when I am able to give gifts to the people that I love. I know that that's my love language. I like gift giving. And it's mostly through food, kind of aligns with like my culture, right? They don't necessarily say, I love you. How are you feeling? That's the process. It's just like, let's go out to eat, right? So that's the main reason my mom, I mean, she made really made so many sacrifices, a single parent, having to support me and my brother, making all these sacrifices, delaying gratification. So I would love to be able to have financial success to the point where maybe I could put her in business class, right? On a flight eventually when she wants to go back to the Philippines, right? I mean, not right now, you know, that's pretty expensive, thousands of dollars, right? So it's like, mom, I'll pay for your flight, but it's not business class, you know what I mean? And you could also have this credit card and you have a limit, right? But those flights are expensive, right? So I'm hoping that I could achieve, you know, financial independence. And she's the main reason that why I do this.

SPEAKER_01 29:24

That's amazing. And like you, I have parents as well that I would, you know, like to see them retire at one point, and they're getting older, and then we are acutely aware of how much they have given out for us. And I think that's one of the things that we keep seeing, and we're like immense gratitude with love. And I know it's very culture, and a lot of people do not identify with this, but it actually makes us happy to try to even unload some of the things that they have to deal with, right? It's very rewarding. But what do you tell yourself when you're going through challenging times? What is your self-dialogue when something attendant calls you or something goes wrong or a pipe or an electrician needs to come right away? Like, what is it that how do you talk to yourself during those times?

SPEAKER_00 30:20

So an immediate reaction might be a little frustration, a little bit of anxiety, right? But that's why I have reserves, right? I know that I'll be able to pay it off. I mean, I do have a property manager, so that's really helpful. Of course, just because you have a property manager doesn't mean that everything is smooth sailing. So what I like to use is music to help me cope, right? I'll maybe listen to some gangster rap, you know, some like some Tupac, some Nipsey hustle. And I'm just like, girl, you better get, you know, you better work and you better get it. Also, I listen to like, I mean, that part is maybe more like kind of dance music, right? But I also listen to rap. And to me, it really helps motivate me and encourage me. But what I really like about like rap, they really talk about like the struggle, right? And being part of these like marginalized communities, right? And having to really work so hard to get out of their situation, right? To get out of poverty, to get out of the ghetto, to get out of like gun violence. And I'm like, okay, if these people can do it, I can do it. It's not like I've experienced that type of adversity, right? So, I mean, sometimes I will just listen to Nipsey Hustle and I'm like, all right, okay, you need this, right? Or I'm listening to Tupac and I'm like, you better, better get this. Like, stop, stop bitching, don't complain, right? Sometimes I will have to listen to those motivational songs or go on my Spotify just to help me because it is hard. Because sometimes I just want to throw in the towel, right? But I'm like, no, you said you wanted success. This is part of success. You will sacrifice, it will cost you. There's always a cost, and you have to choose are you gonna make the sacrifice now or are you gonna make the sacrifice later? And I rather make the sacrifice now so that I can secure my future later. And for me, like the greatest flex is like we talked about, like I know it's very cultural, but for me, the greatest flex to be like, all right, mom, I just paid off your house. I mean, now I don't know how long that will take, right? But that's fine. Like, one goal first is like, okay, let me put her in business class, right? When she travels back to the Philippines. And then to me, the greatest flex would be like, you know what, you're you're fine, right? Like, I've paid off your house.

SPEAKER_01 32:29

Amazing. Awesome. I know this about you that you blast the music and the rap and everything. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 32:36

Oh, yeah. I mean, I'm definitely an LA girl, right? I mean, I I need that music to kind of just like pump me up, right? And I mean, I know that you and I are healthcare workers, right? And so there's this a lot that we see. And sometimes for me, I know I need the lyrics to motivate me because I could I know I can feel helpless, like, oh my God, all these systems of oppression. And I'm like, nope, mm-mm. We're gonna, we're still gonna work, but we're gonna, we're gonna get it done.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

Yeah. How important do you think it is to have people around you that are also investing?

SPEAKER_00 33:06

I think it's essential. So I know I consider you one of my friends, right? And we can openly talk about real estate and other factors as well. I have a friend that I do meet on a weekly basis. I met him through a coaching program. And we meet every Wednesday at 12 and we talk about our real estate, we talk about tenants, right? Or vacancy. And for me, I think it's essential because it helps you stay accountable and you also, it's really important to have community because this could be very isolating. And so when you have community, when you have a support system, you can talk about the not so glamorous part of real estate. Because I think, like on YouTube, it's glamorous and it's passive. No, it's not, right? Like, don't let people lie to you. It's not passive and it's not glamorous, okay? Right? When you have a vacancy, you have an eviction that is not glamorous. That's money out of your pocket. But of course, again, there's there's a cost that you do when you're doing business.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

Yeah, and I think that's one of the reasons we made this podcast too, because I think you mentioned, like, oh, you're gonna catch your fire. That actually happened to me, and it was really stressful. But at the time, I also had a community around me. And if I was going through it alone, even though the community they provide mental support, but not to the point, like, oh, we're gonna fold your hand and do this. But if I had it to do by myself, I think I would have been throwing in the towel because that was just so such a reality check for you that these are like real big decisions of your life, and it's not just like numbers on a spreadsheet and just calling people on the phone. But yeah, definitely it helps you because otherwise we feel so lonely. This is something that resonated with me, and I don't know why. I only heard it just like a year ago. Like, if you have a goal, you need to get around people that are working towards the same goal, even if it's something totally out of realistic, like you want to lose 20 pounds, you better join like a little workout group or walking group, a running group, or whatever they want to do to achieve that, and then mingle with those people because the energy is contagious, and that's what propels you forward. So, yeah. Well, Heather, thank you so much for being on this episode with me, and I hope we'll have you back. And congratulations on your last acquisition of that duplex, and I can't wait to hear more news from you. If anybody wants to reach out to you, do you have any way that they can contact you maybe through social media or yes, I'm not so active on social media, I should be, but you could find me.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

I oh, I just created an Instagram, but I'm really not active on it. It's called Househack Heather and Instagram, and then my own just personal website for my private practice is just Paradigm Shift Talk. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 36:00

And put all of Heather's information on this episode. We have episodes coming up every single week, guys. So follow us on Spotify, YouTube, whatever you can. Download or listen to this episode, and we'll see you next time. Thank you.