I bought my first two duplexes at 18 years old and immediately started renovating them. A move like that probably seemed crazy to my peers who were more interested in girls and sports than making money, but I grew up in the real estate business. My dad was a contractor, and my uncle owned investment properties. My uncle didn’t graduate high school, and by 45 he was a millionaire! I wanted to be just like him. So even at 16, I thought about cash flow.
I picked out the duplexes at 17 and waited impatiently until my 18th birthday (in October 1988) to sign the papers. Back then, non-qualifying assumable mortgages were a lot more common. I took advantage of the lack of credit standards to snap up those properties and flip all four units. When I was finished with them, the $400-per-month rent jumped to $700! Now it’s double that. Of course, I immediately used that cash to buy more rental properties.
As you can tell I’ve always been a hustler. My friends like to call me “24/7 Kevin” because I just don’t stop. I didn’t have an off switch as an ambitious 17-year-old kid, and I don’t have one now as senior vice president of business development of Connected Investors (the parent company of PrivateLenders.com). Since I bought those first two duplexes, I’ve …
- Earned master’s degrees in finance and business.
- Raised venture capital during the dot-com boom.
- Launched my own company, Real Property Group, to flip houses, buy notes, and purchase properties through owner financing.
- Earned my real estate license.
- Grew my net worth from $50,000 to more than $15 million.
- Got my butt handed to me in the housing crash of ’08.
- Watched my net worth fall into the negative millions.
- Hired myself out as a professional commercial real estate speaker for $3,000 per hour.
- Worked for DLP Capital renovating commercial buildings and developing businesses for all aspects of the real estate business, including realty, lending, acquisitions of single‑family residential and multifamily assets, construction, title, and media.
- Helped grow Anders Capital Group to a team of 250 people as senior vice president of business development.
- Flipped more than 4,500 properties in 22 different states.
- Operated as many as 973 rental properties at a time.
That’s my version of a short list. As you can see, I’ve been through the ups and downs of the market. I lost millions in ’08, but always landed on my feet, got back in the game, and climbed back on top. In 2020, I made my best move yet: I joined Connected Investors as senior vice president of business development.
Over the years I’ve been a lender, real estate investor, tech worker, banking expert, and even a sales engineer — but I’ve never been happier with my career than I am in this job, connecting lenders like you with the borrowers who need your private money. I spend all day talking to lenders and helping them build their businesses.
This is the perfect position to combine all of my different areas of expertise, and I’m excited to share my knowledge with you on a monthly basis. I’m a hands-on lender and an expert in real estate cycles and understanding market conditions. I also love to learn, so I’m always uncovering more industry secrets. Tap here for your first insider tip, and stay tuned for access to the other secrets I’ve found while studying micro and macroeconomics, monetary supply, financial policy, and more.
I hope you will come on this journey with me. Tap here to learn how to get started with us! The future of PrivateLenders.com is bright, and it has huge potential to help you grow your investment business by connecting you with borrowers. Keep an eye out for next month’s newsletter, where I’ll give you the inside scoop on how CEO Ross Hamilton founded the company, why First American Financial bought it, and what we can do for you.
Kevin Earnest
Business Development Director
