Real Estate Investing with Nate Riggs

From an early age Nate Riggs knew exactly what I wanted to do; serve others and help them live their best life now. He started helping people buy and sell real estate in 2008. He was young and the market was tough, and he knew he needed real-life experience if he was going to be a valuable asset to anyone. Answering the desire to serve other’s he joined the US Navy as a helicopter Search and Rescue Swimmer in 2010. He never lost his passion for real estate and continued to follow the trends in the market. Now, ten years later, he’s building on the values and principles he gained while serving as a SAR Swimmer.

He spent 10 years in the Navy. And he’s on a mission to help folks, especially in the military house hack. He gets their financial stability going as they’re starting out in their careers and their lives and even their second careers as they’re moving away from the military.

Watch the episode here:

Listen to the podcast here:

Brett:

I’m excited about our next guest. He’s out of the great state of Florida. He’s in the Jacksonville area, he spent 10 years in the Navy. And he’s on a mission to help folks especially in the military, house hack, right. And house hack is something we’re gonna talk about here in a minute, but really get their financial stability going as they’re starting out in their careers and their lives and even their second careers as they’re moving away from the military. So please welcome to the show with me, Nate Riggs. Nate, how are you doing?

Nate:

Hey, Brett, thanks for having me. Uh, doing good. It’s nice and warm down here. Watch says it’s 82. It might be warmer. I don’t know.

Brett:

That’s cool. And I see that surfboard in the back. I mean, are there you surfing pretty good in Jacksonville? Or were you doing there?

Nate:

You know, I used to do a lot of surfing. But lately, I’m just like growing a family growing kids. And so not as much time out there as I’d like to play a little guitar also as a hobby. You know, just kind of that lifestyle here in Florida. This is Jacksonville, Florida, probably as far north as all ever live. I just can’t do it can’t go any further.

Brett:

I hear you, I hear you. So I’m in Northern California. And so it’s probably about as far north as I’ll ever go to. So let’s dive right in Nate. For those who are just getting to know for the first time, would you give us a little bit more about your story and your current focus?

Nate:

Yeah. And in short, I actually grew up on the river and Sebastian, Florida, and rode around in my grandma’s old Lincoln, my grandpa had a sport was marine on Lodge, we also had some commercial stuff like, you know, coin laundry, changing soda machines, she had done some development. So I always was into real estate. What happened was I got my license at a young age at like 20 years old, started doing real estate. And then, of course, the Great Recession happened, they are 2007 2008 timeframe really, really sets back a 20-year old that’s trying to like take off in the world during that. So it was tough. So I had to do something to kind of fill my resume to grow up a little bit. And that’s what led me to the Navy. join the Navy as a helicopter search and rescue swimmer. And I spent 10 years doing that. So towards the end, I knew it was about time to get out and get back to real estate. So in the last 18 months of my Navy career, turn my license back on I stepped away from the Navy last January. The so last year 2020 was my full-time year. Of course, that was an interesting year, to say the least. But I never quit working, I went to work every day was lucky and fortunate enough to do that have continued to work. And we’ve done pretty well. And just kind of in the real estate world. Beautiful love that.

Brett:

And you know, I believe we’ve all been given certain gifts Nate in this life. And these gifts have been given to us to be a blessing helped others. So maybe go back to your high school days, maybe the early military days, and maybe identify maybe one or two gifts that you believe you were given? And what are those gifts? And how does that help? How do you help bless people today?

Nate:

Wow, okay, um, gifts I have, I guess, I guess one of the things that I have and, and I’ve noticed this over time, whether it was getting job promotions, even as a young age, I like the younger jobs, you know, I kind of stepped away from a job. And if I ever wanted back, always got it. And then as I was in the Navy, in the rescue swimmer, we call it a shop. But you know, it’s kind of a small community in the bigger realm of things. And I realized I had the ability to change the energy in the room. So if I came into a room, the energy changed. At some point, I didn’t really notice that or I didn’t focus it and sometimes they call them rigs rants, I could just fire off these rants and basically get into topics and fire everybody up, right. And then once they got labeled, I realized that rants are inherently negative. So I tried to kind of harness that and say, Okay, if I can control the energy in the room when Nate Riggs comes into the room, I want to make sure I’m making a positive difference and I’m moving this room forward, bringing uplifting statements to people so that’s probably the biggest gift to gift of energy. If I had one.

Brett:

That’s a beautiful gift and you think you said it so well. I could feel the energy from here in California on the other side of this microphone here in Florida. So I the rigs rants you know they think I think about two I think about you see the movie or the show they actually show us better than movie Friday Night Lights right? And this guy named Riggs right and I thinks they got the brothers they start like rigs you know rigs, you know car. Thank you. rug shop or whatever it is right but they in I don’t even know if that’s even pronouncing right. But I just think about that I think about that show. And that particular actor, you know, he could come in and change the energy of the room. And so I really appreciate you sharing that. Have you seen that show, by the way, Friday Night Lights?

Nate:

You know, I’ve seen it but not enough to be able to kind of my go-to has to back might have to review.

Brett:

He does. It’s really good. And it’s about football, it’s about life. It’s about family and community. It’s honestly, top three show all the time I’ve ever seen. It’s a Friday Night Lights, not to be confused about the movie, the movies, and movies. But the show is legit. All right. So let’s dive right into real estate. So what’s the biggest kept secret to house hacking, especially as it pertains to folks that are either coming out of the military? And or, you know, folks that are just kind of getting started?

Nate:

Yeah, so I guess I would say, don’t go after your dream home, for your first home. Right. So when you’re shopping, maybe you’re shopping for your first home, or you just moved to a new area. And you want to build that portfolio slowly over time. We’re talking like over 1015 years, as you work your job, you’re taking your extra income and you’re pouring into these homes, I would shop with the idea of rental in mind. I’m a fan of buy and hold real estate and so when you buy your house, maybe you’re buying your first house, is this house going to be rentable, in the future? What’s the rest of the neighborhood like? And not just that once you’re in that house? What updates do you need to do to make it more rentable? Or if you were to sell it, how to make a profit? You know, I’ve worked for people in the past they’ve come in and they’ve made these beautiful kitchens or these beautiful outdoor like paver patios. The problem is nobody else in the neighborhood has that. So when they move out, and they tried to sell, it’s hard to make appraisals, right. So appraisals are just as important as taste, somebody may come in and say, Hey, I’m willing to borrow this much money from the bank, but the bank may turn around and with its appraisal, smack that down and say, well, but we’re not going to give you that much because everybody else in the neighborhood is lacking. So you know, you don’t want to be the best house in the neighborhood, you know, so you kind of want to shop for that average or lower-end house in the neighborhood, get into that house if you’re going to live in it for a little bit. And then look at things like, Okay, if you buy a house that has carpet, hard, hard floors are popular, what’s the price point? Can you go in and put LVP so luxury vinyl plank versus putting real tile in? You know, what’s the price point? What’s going to have the best ROI, right, or the return on your investment? So I would start there, start the conversation there with somebody.

Brett:

Excellent. I think I got I think I caught that and make sure I got it correctly here. So don’t go after your dream home for your first home. What I’m hearing is there is delay gratification, right? Instead of just you know, maximizing you know, the sales, the purchase price and taking on this debt and not having maybe a lot of room to A do improvements, or B look at the exit plan for the future of the rentability have the right look at it more of an investment rather than your forever home. Is that a fair summary?

Real Estate Investing: “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn

Nate:

Right? That’s absolutely right. And if you’re starting a young career, you’re starting a young military career or even a career out of college. And you’re making enough income, and you’ve got the money to put down or you’re able to take advantage of the product. I mean, there are ways you can put three and a half percent down or 10% down, it doesn’t always have to be 20% down. And so you’re able to kind of take advantage of that if maybe have a career that moves, you could buy a house in different cities as you go. So instead of, I’ve got to buy a house that maximizes my budget. And if I leave if, in order for me to even rent an apartment for six months at my next location, I have to sell this place because there’s no way I can carry it, start looking at a house that like hey, if my job takes me out of this city, or especially now where so many of us are able to work from home, and the commercial world has changed so much and that’s why we see so much growth in Florida because it’s a beautiful place. Um, you know, there are other beautiful places in the country that see influxes of people. But when you’re able to work from home, you can live anywhere. So maybe you’re able to move, you can purchase that house, get a house that you can carry for six months, you know, so you can get somebody in it.

Brett:

Very well said, Yeah, I’m thinking about having no margin, right. If you have no margin, there’s not a lot of room for error. So if you get you to know redeployed to a different location, or you get another career or a different job and you’re moving, and if you’re already maxed out on the income, you’re going to have to sell in order to afford the next living expense. Instead, why not delay gratification, look at his investment ticket smaller, buy it, make sure it’s a good rental and there’s a margin there and your income and the cash flow so that when you move literally it’s just an investment right. It’s not hard. Is that a fair summary?

Nate:

Right? Yeah, absolutely.

Brett:

Okay, cool. Excellent. So that makes sense. Now, the second part of house hacking perhaps is, you know, buying a duplex buying a fourplex. So why don’t you talk a little bit about that?

Nate:

Yeah, so at least here in Florida, like our rules are what we have. And this, you know, different states have different things. But in Florida, a, a quad. So up to a fourplex or a duplex, a triplex or a fourplex, those can all qualify as residential. So you’re able to take residential mortgages, residential loans out for those little simpler, a little less complicated than the commercial stuff. And you can buy that now, you can move, say you buy a fourplex, you can move into one of those units. And if you do that, then you’re able to take advantage of those other things like not, you know, if you buy an investment property, you’re gonna get hit with at least 10% down if you have a good mortgage broker, but it may be the full 20% down. If you move in with, you know, to home yourself, and you’re gonna make your primary, you may qualify for three and a half percent down, or if you’re military and you get programs like VA, you can do 0% down, or even USDA, we have areas here where Jacksonville is exploding. And as it grows, they’re building new developments where there used to be cow farms. However, the rules haven’t changed yet. So these areas on the map still qualify for USDA, and you can get super low-interest rates. And you can put zero down for that if you qualify if your credit is in line and all that, of course. But if you’re able to move into a place and make it your primary home, but it’s fourplex, you’re running out of 3 of the 4 units. And so you should be able to find something like that. And cash flow might not be the first one you find. But as you look for and you see that it cash flows, you can live in it. And then maybe you live there a couple of years and you move out and you rent the fourth one.

Brett:

I love it. Absolutely love it. So I’m gonna go back to a story date. Newly married, baby on the way, right? My wife and I are living in this small little apartment complex. It was like $725 of rent and a washer dryer. Nice farmer has the same power requirements for 18 $100 right now. Okay, crazy, right? Wow, this is almost like 12 years ago, right? And so I’m talking about house hacking, right? And I’m in real estate. I’m a commercial broker myself. I’m all excited. So like, we got this place in Granite Bay, and Granite Bay is known as like a really nice area. And she’s like, okay, granted, bam. Yeah, well, it’s like a fourplex, you know, duplex down the street, right? I hadn’t quite I mean, I see it. But like I was trying to, like, make it a little better than it was. But we roll up and she’s just like, Nope, I’m not living there. I’m not living here. So talk to us about persuading the significant other, right when starting a family to try to say, Hey, baby, this isn’t the dream house, but this is actually going to fulfill our dreams with cash.

Nate:

Yeah, that is a challenge. I talked to so many people on so many couples where one member of the couple is kind of hung up on just seeing the savings account grow. And that’s essential, you know, some people say that’s dead money. It’s just sitting there, it’s making the least amount of return possible, but they feel so secure to see it grow. And then the spouse is like, let’s take that and let’s put it down on this house and rent it out. Right? So it is difficult. I don’t want to get super crazy. I mean, I’ve read books on like negotiation and everything, you know, try to get in there. One of the things that come to mind and it was when you mentioned it came right to mind before you even ask the question is you kind of like up sold it, you know, before you got there, maybe down-sell, listen to this place, you know, but the future the opportunity is there. And if you sell it that way, you know, I’m not saying you want to talk them out of it, but at least be straightforward or, hey, this place you’re gonna hate it, you know, maybe make it as you know, well let me see it now you’re gonna hate it. I swear you’re gonna hate it. But it’s all for brought and then maybe when they get there, it’ll pick you to know, it’s not as bad because maybe in their mind, they think it’s the worst place on earth.

Brett:

That’s a great insight. I guess I gotta ask my wife and I’m gonna say hey, do this. What would have happened? Maybe we’ll bring it to the show. And see what happens on that one. Yeah, very cool. All right. So consider buying a duplex triplex fourplex you get the residential financing, right and very low. Typically, these are fixed-rate terms, right 30-year fix at some of the lowest possible rates, you live there for a year or two, whatever, you rent it out, guess what? It’s the same loan, right? You don’t have to refinance. Whereas traditional commercial loans or investment property loans can be different, especially if it’s five units and above. Now, you’re in commercial now you’re with a much higher downpayment, sometimes 20 35% and higher interest rates. So the government gives better incentives, because they sometimes subsidize especially these USDA loans, right? For homeownership, right they want to encourage homeownership. So all that being said, consider house hacking buying a duplex triplex fourplex, and getting in there getting the cash flow. Okay, so that’s number two. Anything else that you want to add to the house hack, Nate?

Nate:

What do we say was the first one?

Brett:

Delay gratification, and then considered a duplex. And then the next one?

Nate:

Well, I think we kind of touched on it, but the repairs and the maintenance. So you’re, if you’re getting into investment stuff, you’ve got to maintain it, even my house in my personal house, I’ve got the painters are here this week, you know, doing the outside of my house, it’s only six years old, but it was time to paint it. And that’s something to keep in mind too. Because some people, sometimes even builders have incentives I bought in a neighborhood, it was a 1500 home site community master plan, when I bought in there were fewer than 100 homes. Now I don’t know what I’m gonna get, you don’t know what neighbors you’re gonna get. The neighborhood is not established, you don’t get the drive through it. The trees are small, all that stuff. But I know it’s gonna be here for a while. And if you do something like that you can get in and while I was under contract from the builder be how before my house before even broke ground on my house, they raised their prices. So sometimes they offer incentives, even right out of the gate to say, Hey, we want to start building, you know, we want to give the appearance that people really want to live in this neighborhood. So then we can build out the rest of it. If you go that you can go into new construction, but even in new construction, you have the maintenance side of things, and you’ve got to be able to create some sort of calculations. All right, I’m buying this house, the roof is 10 years old. What’s the average lifespan of the roof? Oh, it’s about 20 years. Okay, so as long as it’s been maintained, and a tree didn’t fall through, I should have about 10 years left, what’s the price of a roof on this size house potentially $12,000. Okay, and do a little bit of math, create your accounts, you should have some sort of like operating accounts. The problem with so many people is they run, they have one account, they get paid, and they put it in the account, and then they spend it. And I see that a lot. I see a lot of people who are qualified for a loan, but they’re living paycheck to paycheck. And so then they run to things like closing costs, and we haven’t gotten to closing costs, yet. that’s separate from a downpayment, you might have zero down. But even if you use zero down, you need closing costs. Now I know we kind of all went all over the place there. But I guess what that sums it to is like you got to have some money in the bank, or you’ve got to be living physically responsible to kind of take this on.

Brett:

Yeah, budgeting one on one. If you haven’t taken Dave Ramsey’s course, and you’re listening to this, consider that, right? We have typically more advanced listeners, but hey, we got Nate on today. And we all can be reminded of the basics, right. And that’s any that’s for an investment property. And that’s for, you know, we call it a reserve account for multifamily. And typically, it’s $250 per unit per year. And that’s just stacked in there. And that’s built into the expenses. And that’s an operating reserve because you’re right, the water heater, right? The AC unit, the roof, something’s going to happen. And you’ve got to have those capital improvement reserves ready to go. Excellent. All that being said, Are you ready for the lightning round?

Nate:

Yeah, sure.

Brett:

All right, knowing what you know, now, if you go back to your 25-year-old self, although I mean, you might already be. How old are you Nate?

Nate:

34.

Brett:

Okay, good. 25-year-old self, what’s the one Golden Nugget and make sure to tell yourself to do?

Nate:

Oh, don’t buy that Dodge Charger RT.

Brett:

Right. Don’t take that bonus money for re-upping in the Navy. Don’t buy that Dodge Charger RT.

Nate:

Consumer debt, don’t let your consumer debt get away from you.

Brett:

Good old said a second question. What’s the number one book you’ve recommended or gift at the most in the past year?

Nate:

Oh, I’m okay. So, man, you know, I did read green lights. And maybe it’s kind of cliche, but it’s a very good book. I also read a book called it doesn’t have to be crazy at work early on in this year. And that was kind of a book on slowing down. Now the way I approached books is their kind of like tools. And I put tools in my toolbox, but I don’t use necessarily all the tools for the same jobs. So keep that in mind. So if you go to It Doesn’t Have To Be Crazy At Work. Very good book. As far as I mean, exactly what it says I would recommend it even if you’re it’s both for good for entrepreneurs, but also just for employees to approach their day to day work.

Brett:

Love it. Great answer. Next question. Favorite leadership quote or theme that you strive to live by?

Nate:

Okay, so I like this quote, every day we make it we’ll make it the best we can. And I’ve had people kind of questioned me on this. That’s actually a Jack Daniels Quote. I’ve got a glass It’s engraved on the jack daniels glass. I think it’s on their website and stuff. And so I just think it’s when you’re going out the front door every day I make it, I’m gonna make it the best I can. And to me, it says, regardless of what I’m handed, regardless of what tools, what supplies I have, they may not be the best, but I’ll make the best product with them.

Brett:

I love it. I love it. Yeah, taking personal responsibility, and counting your blessings, being grateful for what you have, and making the best of it, you know? Excellent leads into the next. Next question, what’s the number one leadership lesson you learned in your 10 years of service with the Navy?

Nate:

So part of that, I guess, is behind closed doors, there are things that you sometimes don’t see. A lot of times I was, you know, I wonder why a certain leader was doing the things he was doing. And then it only came to, you know, I only understood it later on, why he was doing things he was doing. And so now I try to take that into play into account to any leaders I have, or the people below me. You don’t always have to let everybody under you in on everything. You kind of want to lead them away. But sometimes people want to be led, and they don’t need all the information. They just need to do their job or get their work done. And the same thing, I look at the lens through that of my leaders currently where there may be things I don’t know. So before I get mad at their decision, let it settle for a day or two. And then we’ll go from there.

Brett:

Love. It’s a great leadership lesson. Second last question. What are you most curious about right now?

Nate:

Outer space. I love outer space. I’m curious. You know, me, my brother. We’re very entrepreneur-minded. I’ve referenced him in almost everything I do. I’m curious if I’m glitching on your side of the screen as well as mine.

Brett:

Kinda Yeah, but for people who are listening, you’re probably not catching it. So that’s fine.

Nate:

So we’re always kind of looking at the next thing. We’re calling how much money you got in the bank? Well, we got this well, we got a buddy who he maybe wants to start a gym or So okay, well, let’s figure out the numbers, shall we? it? Should you go to his group? Should you go split it with somebody’s partners? What new business? Can we start? What are our passions? What do we have skills for? And so I guess I’m just always curious about, you know, the future. Maybe space is kind of symbolic of that. Just like, in the bigger picture, just what can I do today that 65 years old me is gonna be like, thank God, you did that.

Brett:

I love that. That’s a great answer. That’s a great answer. Nate Riggs, your wisdom surpasses your 34-year-old age. I’m only 30. I’m not that much older. But I get hate all that. Last question. After all your success. Nate, serving our great country here. And thank you for your service, by the way, appreciate being in real estate and helping people buy and sell real estate in the Jacksonville, Florida area. How do you stay focus on your values? And how do you stay encouraged to charge forward and reach new goals?

Nate:

Stay focus on my values. Man, I guess it’s like, it’s almost like muscle memory. It’s like going to the gym. If you have a belief system, if you have certain values, you need to surround yourself with people that got the same values. People have the same belief system, surround yourself with the people you want to be. You know, and I think it’ll just it’ll be a part of you if you do that. And that’s what I try to do. I look at people that are, I’ve had people who I really looked up to, and some of the greatest moments of my life were when they did take a step in life. That was a big challenge for them. And they told me that, you know, I helped motivate them to do that. And I’m like, What minute is a person I looked up to? So just looking for those moments. That’s really it for me.

Brett:

Hey, Nate Riggs, I want to thank you for being on the show. Thank you for sharing part of your story. And I want to encourage you to keep changing the energy in the room like he changed the energy on our podcast today for our listeners and for myself. By the way, it’s called Riggins Riggs. Okay, Riggins Riggs is on Friday Night Lights. Riggins Brother, and you gotta watch you should watch this. You should watch it. I don’t know how your brother older younger than you. I’m gonna guess he’s older?

Nate:

Younger, he’s 26.

Brett:

He’s 26. Okay, so you’re the older one. That’s fine which is cool. But there’s an older-younger brother and this thing I want you guys to try to watch this thing together and think about Riggins Riggs when and remember me okay. And but for those who want to get in touch with you, Nate Riggs, what’s the best place for them to find you?

Nate:

Yeah, so the best place is probably on social media, usually Facebook and Instagram but you just go to @NateRiggsOfficial on Instagram. I’ll respond there. I’ve got a website nateriggs.kw.com, of course, it’s set up for the home search. You can type in a search and if you just scroll down, I mean, you just give the mouse a little flick. You’ll see a little contact page. You can contact me there. Either of those works best but definitely the Instagram @NateRiggsOfficial. And you know, I’ll respond for sure.

Brett:

Nate, Thanks for being on the show. I want to thank our listeners to listen to the episode of the Capital Gains Tax Solutions Podcast also streaming on expertcresecrets.com. As always, we believe most high net worth individuals those who help in the struggle to clarify their Capital Gains Tax Deferral options. Not having a clear plan is the enemy using the Deferred Sales Trust to sell your highly appreciated cryptocurrency primary home luxury real estate sale failed 1031 exchange is the best way for you to defer tax and grow your wealth you go to capitalgainstaxsolutions.com you can also go to expertcresecrets.com as well to learn more about all things real estate. Thanks so much for listening.