Creating Passive Income Through Real Estate Lien Investing with Angela Duncan

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. are brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like Goal Digger Podcast. Today, we'll be breaking down how to create passive income through real estate, lean investing. To drop these value bombs, I brought to Angela Duncan and the EO Fire Studios. From Section 8 housing and welfare to serial entrepreneur, Angela has over 25 years of experience and a diverse career in banking, financial advising, owning a top 10 REMAX office for five straight years with over$2 billion in sales and establishing and selling an insurance agency.

0:38Angela's mission is simple, to transform lives through passive investing, creating generational wealth. In today's foundation, we'll talk about tax lien investing, generational wealth, lucrative tax lien investment strategies, and how to max it out, and so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Angela and our sponsors. Nudge, hosted by Phil Agnew, is brought to you by the HubSpot podcast network, the audio destination for business professionals. Ever notice how the smallest changes can have the biggest impact? On Nudge, you learn simple evidence-backed tips to help you kick bad habits, get a raise, and grow a business.

1:14Oh, and it's the UK's fast-growing business podcast. A recent episode on how to win any argument shares decade-long research into persuasion from a world-leading neuroscientist. Listen to Nudge wherever you get your podcasts. Angela, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Yes, thank you so much for having me today. I believe that growing up in poverty, I'm talking Section 8 housing, welfare, free school lunches was a huge advantage for me. And let me tell you why. Oftentimes, we are scared to take chances because we are afraid of what we are going to lose.

1:54Well, when you don't have anything to lose, then you kind of eliminate that fear. And that really got me started on my real estate education learning journey. I love that message. And Angela, have you ever read the book Anti-Fragile? No, but I'm jotting that down now. Jot it down. Fantastic author. It's a great book. And it really does go deep into that concept of, are you a fragile person or are you anti-fragile? And they went back and the anti-fragile individuals, that means people that just suffered and struggled and had challenges early on. Those were the individuals that became anti-fragile.

2:34And those are the people that succeeded in life because life couldn't get them down. They just kept coming up for more if they failed. And it's those fragile people that just kind of crack at the first glimpse of struggle or obstacles that just can't get over that. And that's, you know, especially for me now, you know, raising my son, Beau, I'm like, man, how do I create an anti-fragile human or at least give an opportunity to become more anti-fragile? So I love this conversation. I love this theme. But I want to bring it back because a lot of people have heard the words tax lien investing before.

3:08And typically, one of two things happen. They either get really nervous because it sounds a little scary or their eyes glaze over because it sounds really boring. So let's talk tax lien investing 101. Yes, I'm going to try not to geek out here because I can definitely get deep in the weeds when I'm talking about this. So let's first talk about what is a tax lien. Depending on the state that you live in the US here, a lien is placed against your property. So what does that mean? If you own a residential home or maybe a commercial office space and you forgot or did not pay your property taxes. Well, the government doesn't like that.

3:47They need that money for their budget to pay roads and pay teachers and police officers. So when you don't pay your property taxes, a lien is placed on your home and investors like myself can come in, give the government the money that they need, and the government in turn guarantees an interest rate on my funds. And so it's a great way for you to be in the real estate space without a ton of money to start. And it can be something in your backyard that you could drive by this weekend and take a look as you are starting on your real estate investing journey. Fire Nation, we're all about getting you off on the right path on your journey because we all love making money.

4:27We all love adding value to people's worlds. We all love being the number one solution to a real problem. And when you can make money, that's one thing. But when you can make money passively, that's a whole nother level. So let's talk about all the benefits of passive investing. Yeah. So real quick, I just want to go through a couple of steps on the process. I live in the beautiful state of Florida. And in Florida, we pay up to 18 % on your money. So that's awesome. If you live in other states like Illinois, 48 % or Iowa, 72%, hopefully that's getting the listeners a little bit interested on what they could be earning on their money.

5:12So benefits, absolutely. Benefits of passive investing, what does that mean? It means that your money is working extremely hard for you while you are off doing other things. Maybe you're an employee running a business, you have a family, your life is super busy. So you want to put your money to work without you having to do a ton of work, then tax lien investing could be the right thing for you. But you definitely need to know what you're doing before you get started. 50 states, thousands of counties, each one having their own rules. You've got to learn the rules of the game before you start investing in tax liens.

5:46Now, what's holding you back from one of those higher states? I don't live there. I want to go and drive by and make sure that there's a property there. I don't want to be an investor in dirt. Dirt doesn't pay great returns. And if I have to foreclose and take over that property, I need to know that it could be a rental or that I'm going to be able to sell that property. So I'm in Florida. I can drive by here in Miami and check out the property before I make a bid on that tax lien. So I invest in my own backyard. So let's be honest. If we're going to work hard, if we're going to bust our butt, if we're going to grind.

6:21We want to generate revenue. We want to generate wealth. So let's get real detailed here and talk about some lucrative tax lien investment strategies. Okay. So you can go kind of one or two ways. If you want to be the investor, start in your backyard. Figure out what are the rules for your county when it comes to either tax lien or tax deed investing. Depends on your state, but make sure you understand that. And I always advise, like I just said, drive by that property. Make sure that that's a piece of property that ultimately, if you had to foreclose and own, it's something that you want to invest in.

6:57Then you're going to do your due diligence. Most states like Florida, you can look to see what the liens are on the property. Do they have a mortgage? Maybe they didn't cut their grass and now there's a property county lien on it. Make sure you're doing your due diligence so you know what else could be on that title of your property. and then make your bid. Most properties are placed online today and you can go online, take a look 30 days before the auction and see what the bids are going to be, make your own bid, and then hopefully you win that bid. So that's strategy number one. Number two, about 80 % of tax liens and tax deeds are scooped up by funds like the one that we run.

7:37And so you are going to compete against some bigger people. Why not just give them your money? Let them invest for you. Yes, you might accept a little bit lower return on your money, but most of the funds give you a promise on how much they're going to pay you, usually in the double digits. So if you don't want to go do the work yourself, then you still have an option for passive investing, but you would just do it through a fund instead of yourself. that. Fire Nation, I love the options and I love how you can go through and really choose what's right for you, being super active, being super, super passive, or a little bit of both, maybe a little hybrid, maybe a little bit of something in between.

8:16And we're going to be talking about some real specifics when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Welcome to the world of entrepreneurship. More things added to your to-do list every day and less time to accomplish the things that matter most. Add to all that the number of tools it takes to run your coaching programs, online courses, growing team, and your physical product sales, and you've really got your hands full. Doing business has never felt harder. But what if there was a way to simplify everything, a way to manage your entire business with a single platform? Sounds like you'll need a miracle to make it happen, doesn't it?

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10:07Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist. Stop comparing and start focusing with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash fire today to get 10 % off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P, dot com slash fire. Angela, we're back and I really love diving into specifics and you've been doing this for a while now. So what is one of your favorite investments that you've made in this area over the past few years? And really talk and walk us through it from step one all the way to where you're at now with it. Yeah. So one of the ways that you can invest in tax liens is through an IRA.

10:49It's called a self-directed IRA. So you're saving for your retirement, which is always my number one thing If you're starting your investing journey, start with your retirement because one, you can't get a loan for retirement, unlike your house, your car and everything else. So retirement should be super important to you through a self-directed IRA. It's just another company that's kind of facilitating this investing. I mean, you can invest in tax lien, real estate, crypto, silver, gold, many other things outside of the stock market. So kind of weigh in your options. If you're wanting to get into that real estate space, but you have a 401k, you left that company, we're going to roll it over into a self-directed IRA.

11:28There are more options than the stock market. I feel like Wall Street hasn't quite been honest with us because they say eight to 10 percent. That's a normal return. True for the stock market, but real estate can do so much better when you do it correctly. So self-directed IRA is like an untapped secret that a lot of people don't know about. and you definitely should find out more information about that if you have a retirement account. So let's get real detailed on your favorite recent investment. Yeah, for me, I'm in Florida. And so, you know, I don't like to think about foreclosures. Foreclosures can be really hard for a homeowner, but sometimes that homeowner, either they had maybe someone pass in their family, they got sick, they lost their job, and they just can't afford that house anymore.

12:15Well, we want to give them another option. So when you go to a homeowner that is behind in their property taxes, maybe you can offer them some cash to get out of that home, move on to their next journey. And I had a homeowner just like that. She was an older lady. Her husband had passed away. She just didn't know what her options were. So we came in. We discussed some options with her. So instead of losing her home to foreclosure, meaning losing all of that equity that she has built up over the years, we gave her some cash. She moved on her way and I was able to get a property at a discount, which is still a win win because she got cash to move on.

12:54Then we fixed up the house. We flipped it and then a brand new family got to move into that home. Yes, we made some money in the process, but we helped not only the lady move on, but a new family now has a beautiful new home that was fully renovated. I mean, this is what you call a win-win-win all around Fire Nation, which is why I can see people really fall in love with this strategy. And on that note, let's just say Fire Nation is getting excited, they're buying in, and they want to max it out. Let's talk about some strategies on maximizing passive investment returns. Yeah, I put this guide together, JLD, just for your audience, and I'm going to give it away for free.

13:34It's only for your audience. We haven't advertised this anywhere else. So with your permission, I would love to tell them how to get the free passive investing guide. Yeah, let's do it. All right. So if you go with morewithangela.com forward slash fire, you're going to be able to download that free passive investing guide. It's going to give you some key things that you're going to want to look for first when you start this, because I truly believe don't start investing without real education and find a mentor to do so. Just like you, JLD, I've been following you for a long time on podcasting and you're so giving and you teach us so many things.

14:09We want to be there to help teach you as well. So again, morewithangela.com forward slash FIRE for that free passive investing guide. FIRE. And as you know, Angela, FIRE Nation loves stories, loves them. We've gotten to know a little bit of your story throughout this in the intro and then throughout this actual conversation that we've had. But I really want to do a deep dive now into your story of going from poverty to passive income wealth building success. What did that look like? Yeah, so I talked a little bit. I grew up on sex-chained housing and welfare. I have lived in cars and parks, motel rooms, and other people's houses all before the age of 15.

14:53And I thought, there's got to be a different way. There needs to be a way for us to be able to educate ourselves, even if the environment in which we grew up in did not offer that. So I went on a journey to get my college degrees. I studied finance and then I took five years to finish college. Well, because I had to work three jobs to get there, but I thought like, gosh, there's gotta be a better way. So I started just researching back then. It was books and some online free programs. And I found a mentor in the real estate space. And that was awesome because I really think that as kids, we ask tons of questions, right?

15:31And now that you're a parent, maybe I hope that you will employ this, but stop telling our kids to not ask questions because I said so, because I am genuinely a curious person. I asked tons of questions and that has really helped me on this journey. I have helped people buy single family properties, which to me were such a headache. And I didn't want to be a landlord answering plumbing leak phone calls on Thanksgiving. And so I started to think about what else there was. And when I found tax lien investing and how easy it really could be when you're educated, I knew that this was going to be an amazing way for me to grow wealth.

16:09And now I teach others how to do the same because we want to live our lives, but we still want our money to work very hard for us. And that's where the investing in real estate comes in. Angela, we've had a great conversation around creating passive income through real estate lean investing. What is the one thing that you really want to make sure Fire Nation gets from our conversation today? Yes. So when you are online and you're doing this bidding, I know it could be super exciting. It's like the opposite of the eBay effect, determining what interest rate is going to be okay for you to accept.

16:43I said Florida can pay up to 18%, but guess what? When you go online and you make that bid, I can bid 16%, 14%, 12%. So figure out what is the minimum you are willing to take on your money so that you can win that property. And if you go through that foreclosure process, you have to determine then, are you going to be someone who fixes it and flips it, which means sells the property, maybe you're just going to sell it, or maybe you're going to hold it as a long-term rental. All of those could be great strategies, but you have to determine first what kind of investor are you. Make sure you understand all of the process and the kind of investor you are before you leap into tax lien investing so that you have a great strategy in place i don't want you to learn by mistake in this instance because well you could lose thousands and thousands of dollars but you really can get into tax lien investing with five hundred dollars thousand dollars much easier than spending hundreds of thousands on a rental property that you may not want to be a landlord why not look at just the lean piece of it because worst case scenario is that the county gives you your money back with that guaranteed interest rate, and then you didn't have to do anything with the property.

17:54So there's lots of options. Understand the rules, understand the options. There can be changes because it's the county, it's the government. They're going to do what they want with their rules. So stay up to date with that and find a mentor that can really teach you before you start investing. Angela, I know you shared it once, but share it again. What is your call to action for Fire Nation today? Yes, I am super excited to educate you with a free passive investing guide. Go to morewithangela.com forward slash fire. Morewithangela.com forward slash fire. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

18:34You've been hanging out with AD and JLD today, so keep up that heat. For links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type Angela in the search bar and the show notes page will pop right up. And Angela, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation. For that, we salute you and we will catch you on the flip side. Thank you. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Angela for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, are you ready to rock your very own podcast? Check out our free podcasting course where I will teach you how to create and launch your podcast for free, freepodcastcourse.com.

19:09I will catch you there or on the flippity flip side. Nudge, hosted by Phil Agnew, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Ever notice how the smallest changes can have the biggest impact? On Nudge, you learn simple evidence-backed tips to help you kick bad habits, get a raise, and grow a business. Oh, and it's the UK's fast-growing business podcast. A recent episode on how to win any argument shares decade-long research into persuasion from a world-leading neuroscientist. Listen to Nudge wherever you get your podcasts.