We Edit Podcasts
- Oct 6, 2020
- 3 min read

Ep 92: Fix-and-Flip to Multi-Family Investing with Leka Devatha

Real estate investments generally fall somewhere along a spectrum of risk and effort. The fix-and-flip method takes on a high level of risk and requires a lot of effort to buy, renovate, and flip, while the buy-and-hold strategy is a pretty safe bet that requires little effort, buying properties and renting them out long-term. But why not do both? Today’s guest is Leka Devatha, who started out as a single-family investor doing fix-and-flips with her company Rehabit Homes, and she has since spearheaded hundreds of transactions, including land subdivisions, multi-family investing, and residential real estate. Leka co-hosts the Real Estate At Work monthly meetup, and is the co-author of The Only Woman in the Room: Knowledge and Inspiration from 20 Women Real Estate Investors. In this episode, Leka shares a bit about her path to real estate, how she leveraged her network to take advantage of new opportunities and tackle unknown challenges, and why it is important to understand your financing stamina. We also discuss the value of virtual networking, the value of working with key players, and appreciation versus cashflow, as well as backyard versus out-of-state investing, so make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Leka introduces herself and shares a bit about her background and her path to real estate.
Getting into the single-family fix and flip world – networking and research were crucial.
The importance of knowing your financial stamina, how much you can lose before you profit.
Leka’s process of quitting her W2 job and going into real estate – fail, succeed, learn, repeat.
Leka was optimistic about her unchartered path – she did not want to live her life with regrets.
Balancing all the elements of her business – Leka says she is open to all opportunities!
You can tackle unknown challenges by using your network and knowing who to ask for help.
The benefits of virtual networking, going from in-person to virtual meetups after COVID.
One of Leka’s core strengths is networking, and she uses it to find and work with key players.
How Leka was able to add value for AJ Osborne when she wanted to go into self storage.
Some of the challenges Leka is encountering in self storage and how she overcomes them.
John shares some of his challenges and solutions in the mobile home real estate space.
The power of sticking to a path and moving forward, despite the difficulties.
Leka’s goals for the future – building out her rental portfolio by buying-and-holding more.
Aiming for appreciation value versus cashflow – everybody has different needs and processes.
Investing in her backyard versus out-of-state – Leka’s experience with a building in Tampa.

Tweetables:

“I learn, I fail, I succeed, rinse, repeat.” — Leka Devatha [0:10:22]

“I think you just mold yourself to the opportunities that present itself, and if you’re open to them and open to taking something down, then you can go into these different roles and you will be just fine.” — Leka Devatha [0:18:09]

“I’m really all about, go and find the key players, learn from them, see how you can add value to their lives. If there’s something that you can help them do, then that is a good way to get into their sphere and cultivate that relationship.” — Leka Devatha [0:26:59]