Member Spotlight - Cindy and Pete Fischer ...

affecting the industry. We generally attend one to two new trainings per year. We have attended specific niche trainings as well mastermind events with a host of presentations, each offering a different set of knowledge on different parts of investing. Our most recent training was a three-day event taught by Tony Youngs. Has coaching or mentoring played a part in your success?

The answer is; definitely yes! Throughout all of my professions (sales rep, educator, counselor, coach, and real estate investor), I have had key people I leaned on for help and I commonly still reach out to them today. Pete says this as well. He will reminisce of specific key people in his career as carpenter and in our real estate investing. Most of the trainings we have taken offer an extended mentor/coaching component and the opportunity to reattend the event without additional charges. Having the ability to reach out to the real estate gurus we trained with is super-helpful and no doubt, makes a difference.

What are your current and future goals?

We have goals in several areas:

1. Diversifying our portfolio, which we started in 2019.

2. We want to do some flips, utilizing a variety of strategies from trainings we have attended, or fix and shorter-term holds as “rent-to-owns.”

3. Build out two lots in Branson, and meeting our goal of the “Klassic Lodge Treo” vacation and event center.

4. Reducing debt with a variety of strategies as noted above, as well as other financial debt-reduction strategies.

5. Building my real estate coaching practice and developing structured workshops.

What has been your top struggle in this business?

To identify one top challenge we have encountered is hard. I think it is important to say that we have had many and we are still moving forward and passionate about investing. Our challenges include:

1. Finding good tenants, and very closely linked to this challenge is evicting tenants that are not paying and other lease violations. We have many good tenants that were renting when we purchased the property or were our first tenant to the building. We have also had tenants that rented, moved away and when moving back to the area, call us up because they respected us as landlords.

2. Buying with our heart vs. with an investor mindset. We bought a shop property thinking it would be great to have. We could save money by buying good deals on materials and store them in part of it and rent out the rest of the space. We didn’t give it enough thought and wound up losing money due to location/parking challenges, repair costs and property expenses. We held it for seven years and sold it for more than we paid for it but it was often vacant and the taxes more than tripled so it was often a negative cash flow.

3. Trusting a builder too much and not questioning and requiring more documentation. Our second vacation rental investment was a new build. We overly assumed if the title company wasn’t questioning a draw, it was okay to sign off on. The house was pretty far along before we caught on and fired the builder. We spent almost five months on-site finishing it up ourselves but it has been a great success.

What do you like most about what you do?

The short answer is the challenges of the whole process as well as the joy of the finished product and the “helping” aspect of the business. Whether it’s rehabbing a property getting it ready for tenants, or deciding on a theme for a vacation rental, it’s fun to work through the challenges and so joyful when you have a finished product ready for tenants or vacationing guests. It also feels like we are helping people! Whether it is restoring a community by taking a rundown (often abandoned) property and turning it into affordable housing and getting people into a place they can call home or creating an experience that allows a vacationer to relax, recharge, and build memories with family and friends — we feel like we are helping.

As an example, I’d like to share a story about a tenant. A few years back a person with a disability approached us about renting. Even at a reasonable rent rate for the area, the house was more than his budget and was not accessible based on his needs. We thought a lot about it and decided it would be a great way to give back. We made the necessary changes to the property and rented it to him. On numerous occasions Pete has helped him with a few things when he didn’t have the needed assistance. We are proud to say that four years later, we still have him as a tenant.

Do you have a tip or advice that you would pass along to other investors?

We could easily get on a soap box of advising but at the top of the list is attending your local REIA, including time networking. Get the contact information of those you meet and stay in touch. Through the years, we have built friendships with other investors, and it really keep us grounded. The general public often has a distorted view of real estate investing and if that’s all you hear, it can be hard to get through setbacks or you may take the advice of someone who really doesn’t get it. In the world of non-investors, there are a few common perspectives out there that can bring you down very quickly, especially in the early stages. They will say things such as, “real estate is too risky” or “you can only do that if you have a lot of money,” “investors are money greedy, just out to get rich” or, my personal favorite “well I did that once and it was a disaster.” By attending REIA meetings and learning from other investors who are passionate about their endeavors, you become empowered and stay energized. There are hard times and challenges for sure; but being around like minds whose perspectives are focused on how can we get through the challenges, you will be comforted and inspired to continue on.

If I am allowed to offer a second piece of advice, it is “Know thyself.” Over and over, we have spoken highly about trainings. That said, each one has lot to offer and makes a strong case for their training recommendations. One example is property management: selfmanagement vs property managers. Pete and I are using both styles but are moving more and more to property managers as we prepare to travel more. We also are impressed by property owners who only self-manage. It is so important to take information presented in trainings and explore how that fits your personality as well as the short- and long-term goals you have for yourself. Again, I passionately believe that knowing yourself is a key ingredient for real estate success. That said, another little plug for life coaching; it does help you take in all that you learn and who you are as an individual and find your personal best course in your real estate investing journey.

How important is joining a local REIA to a new investor?

There is no doubt in our minds that your local REIA is helpful for success. Meeting like-minded people makes a big difference. You will be inspired and supported in so many ways. You will likely be introduced to successful people often selling their programs (and I advise you to invest as needed in the trainings but know that you will still need to be wise in your purchases). That said, we have learned and utilized strategies we learned in these trainings.

What is your favorite self-help or business book?

I have always been inspired by reading autobiographies and memoires of people who have achieved a significant goal and/or overcome some significant life obstacle. There are many that come to mind when I think about it. There are also many inspiring self-help books that I have read and still recommend to this day as a counselor. When I think though of the significant books on real estate investing or wealth building, three books come to mind immediately: Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki; I Have a Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker; and Multiple Streams of Income by Robert Allen. We have both found all three very helpful and energizing as investors.

Do you have any interesting hobbies or something unique that you like to do?

Our top hobby is hanging out with our grandkids and incorporating them into our projects. In general, we enjoy spending time with family. We work hard to make sure we fit time in with them as often as possible. Whether it’s going to a theme park, hanging out at home, or working on projects, we love being with them. We hope our passion for projects and a good work ethic is rubbing off on them as well.

Beyond family and investing, we have a few other interests: I love to garden, from potted plants to vegetable gardening. For most of my life, I have loved gardening and passionately believe that it is “good medicine.” I find that whether I am planting, pulling weeds, pruning, or simply walking around my garden (generally including talking to plants), my stress melts away and calmness and happiness take over. Plants are good listeners and never give bad advice. Going to comedy shows is a favorite for both of us; like gardening, laughter is good medicine.

We both like classic cars and in addition to our two daily vehicles, we have two special cars we enjoy driving in good weather: a 2004 Hard Tract Retractable SSR and a 2004 BMW 325i convertible. Our love for cars is evident in one of our vacation rentals, “Klassic Lodge,” where the first floor has an automobile theme. The whole first floor is dedicated to cars. It’s probably no surprise, but Pete is a NASCAR fan and could be classified as a “car guy.” He often tells a story of when he was a young adult still living with his parents. They felt vehicles have only one purpose: to get you from one place to another. For Pete, they are life. That said, knowing his parents would not approve of a muscle car, he bought one and kept if hidden from them at a neighbor’s house. When going out, he would leave in his work car and then switch cars along the way.

Does your business have a website?

We currently do not have our own investment websites. Our self-storage facility has one that is managed by our property manager. Our vacation rentals are all on property manager sites as well as VRBO, Airbnb, etc.

Cindy’s counseling/life coaching website: https://cindyfischer.net/