The Journey to 600 Units: Eric Eickhof
On today's podcast, we talk with Eric Eickhof, broker-owner of Fulton Realty and the owner of over 600 rental units!
Eric began investing in real estate while he was in college. Listen at 1:33 to hear how Eric was financially ready to invest as a college student. At 2:16, Eric talks about the exact conversation that lead him to start investing in real estate back in 2009.
Eric begins to discuss how he began investing in out-of-state properties at 9:06. Eric continues to describe the process of how he learned to manage properties from hundreds of miles away. At 10:44, Eric reveals his strategy for controlling labor costs and hiring people internally to maintain and look after his properties.
At 12:33, Eric begins to discuss the purchase of a large portfolio in Missouri for a great price. Eric went in on this purchase with a group of people, and he later discusses how the purchase opportunity came about. Continuing at 15:23, Eric talks about the accountability factor that is present when working with a group of people and how that accountability can lead to more success!
“Transactions are so complicated, and this is always going to be a people business. You’re always going to need people to navigate through.”
Listen at 18:28 to hear Eric’s thoughts on the importance of maintaining a “collaboration over competition” mindset.
Out of all of the deals that Eric has been a part of, 2 stand out to him as the most rewarding. Listen at 19:06 to hear what they are!
At 23:58, Eric dives into all the different ways that you can make money by putting solar panels on investment properties; some of which include tax credits and decreased utility bills. He says that he can foresee even more financial benefits for using green energy in the future.
Since Eric revealed his most rewarding transactions earlier in the podcast, we of course had to also ask him to share a horror story as well! Listen at 35:56 to hear what Eric considers to be his worst investment.
At 49:18, Eric shares some great advice for people looking to invest in real estate! We really enjoyed our conversation with Eric, and learned so much valuable information about his journey to 600 units. Whether you’re an experience real estate investor or someone who is looking to get started, we hope that you can learn as much as we did from Eric’s experiences!