Built For This Show

What does it take to buy seven properties in just one year—while working full-time, parenting a toddler, and managing renovations? This week, Amy Brooke joins us to share how she and her husband scaled their real estate portfolio in Ontario, Canada with grit, strategy, and serious mindset work.
Amy talks about her journey from buying her first home at 19 in the UK to diving into Canadian real estate, where she self-manages 20+ units and now ventures into property development. You’ll hear how they used their HELOC to finance deals, the mistakes they learned from fast growth, and why having a financing strategy is absolutely critical.
This conversation is packed with insights for new and seasoned investors—especially if you're juggling a full plate. Amy also shares why personal development is key to real estate success and how understanding your core motivators helps you choose the right investing path.
 
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!

In this episode of The Built For This Show, Daniel Zammata joins Alissa Bickar and Andrea Lane to talk about the often-overlooked grind behind real estate investing. Originally from Colombia, Daniel shares why he’s intentionally chosen markets like Oklahoma and Ohio over the usual real estate hot spots—and how staying grounded and gritty has paid off.
Daniel walks us through his transition from property management to becoming a full-fledged investor, revealing how Airbnb, hands-on maintenance, and building his own tech startup shaped his approach. He opens up about the challenges of scaling, sourcing deals, and staying organized as a solopreneur, and shares how embracing the “unsexy” path has brought him closer to financial freedom.
 
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!

In this episode of The Built for This Podcast, hosts Alissa Bickar and Andrea Lane chat with Rob Gibbs, an IT professional-turned-investor based in Austin, Texas. Rob shares his journey from purchasing his first property sight unseen to building a sustainable portfolio of short, mid, and long-term rentals—all while working full-time and managing his properties remotely.
You’ll hear how Rob leverages his background in IT to streamline his real estate business, how he uses tech tools and team-building to operate rentals from afar, and why he believes freedom doesn’t require dozens of units. His real-life numbers and approach are honest, refreshing, and inspiring.
 
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!

In this episode, we sit down with Carrie Howder—a dog-loving, detail-oriented former paralegal turned real estate investor—who shows us what it really means to take the leap and bet on yourself. From a spontaneous start in South Boston to building a lifestyle business centered around pet-friendly short-term rentals in Maine, Carrie shares her journey of agility, grit, and resourcefulness.
Carrie walks us through how she used a 1031 exchange to level up her investments, left her paralegal career to run Airbnbs full-time, and created a niche market welcoming large dogs and their owners. She opens up about what it takes to navigate unexpected challenges—from dealing with code violations to building a trusted team—and how embracing entrepreneurship has reshaped her life.
 
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!

In this episode of the Built For This Podcast, hosts Alissa Bickar and Andrea Lane sit down with real estate investor and entrepreneur Josh Meisel to uncover his unique journey from corporate employee and stock market investor to real estate owner and CEO of a short-term rental property management business.
Josh shares how he started out diversifying investments through real estate after getting burned by rising HOA fees on his first condo purchases. Learn how those early lessons shaped his pivot into multifamily and single-family rentals, and why long-term rentals became his investment of choice—even while building a thriving short-term rental business managing over 35 properties in Austin.
This episode is packed with real talk about building systems, making mistakes, and balancing passive income with the hard realities of running your own business. Josh opens up about the importance of discipline with tenants, the challenge of scaling a new business, and why choosing your role inside your company can be your greatest superpower.
 
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!

What do you do when your dad tells you that your skills might not cut it in the job market? If you're Cris Sohmer, you take that as a challenge and build your own path—starting with a civil service career and eventually becoming a full-time real estate investor.
In this episode of The Built For This Podcast, Alissa and Andrea sit down with Cris to uncover how she turned real estate from a side hustle into her full-time obsession. From managing five rental units in Nassau County, NY, to mentoring her son and daughter-in-law as the next generation of landlords, Cris shares her passion, her process, and her powerful perspective on investing.
She talks about how she screens tenants, why she’s open about being a single mom and a property owner, and what it means to run her business with both heart and boundaries. You'll also hear her unique strategies for handling evictions, working with local judges, and staying hands-on—even after 30 years in the game
 
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!

What does it really mean to be built for this? In this powerful episode, we meet Kris Fleming—real estate negotiator, investor, and creator of The Genius Cultivator—who turned a childhood of poverty and homelessness into a life of wealth and impact through real estate.
Kris shares her raw and inspiring journey of buying her first home at just 18 after aging out of foster care, and how she developed a talent for creative deals, powerful negotiation, and strategic investing. She walks us through her “live-in flip” lifestyle, her pivot into JV partnerships, and the unique mindset that allows her to see opportunities where others see roadblocks.
Andrea and Alissa dive deep into the importance of confidence, relationship-building, and knowing your numbers—lessons every real estate investor can use, no matter where they’re starting from.
 
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!

This episode of the Built For This podcast features Nana Hong, a former PhD student turned full-time real estate investor with a 20-unit portfolio in Pittsburgh. Co-hosts Alissa Bickar and Andrea Lane dive into Nana’s inspiring transition from academia and biotech sales to building a purpose-driven real estate business. Nana shares how her analytical background, experience in sales, and deep personal values shaped her investment approach—from SOPs and deal analysis to creating true homes for tenants.
You’ll hear how Nana leverages mid-term and short-term rentals to adapt to market shifts, manages properties under various entities, and collaborates with co-hosts and tenant-facing teams. She also opens up about the challenges of deal flow, building a personal brand, and why community and mentorship (especially through local organizations like ACRE and Toastmasters) have been central to her success.
 
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!

In this episode of The Built for This Podcast, Alissa and Andrea sit down with Shona Lepis—Portland-based real estate investor and coach—to uncover what it really takes to build a profitable buy-and-hold real estate business. From her roots in graphic design to scaling a thriving portfolio of midterm rentals, Shona shares how creative financing, smart design, and strong community ties have shaped her investing journey.
Tune in to hear:
Why midterm rentals are a powerful wealth-building strategy
How Shona’s design and marketing background gives her an edge
The types of tenants that thrive in midterm stays
Her approach to self-managing properties with systems and support
The mindset shifts and community support that helped her grow
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!

What would you do if you landed in a new country at 18 with no English, no family, and just $50 in your pocket? Ewka Kawecki did what few would dare—she got to work. From a bakery job to building a real estate portfolio across Indiana and Illinois, Ewka is the definition of grit and grace in business.
In this inspiring episode, Ewka shares her journey of buying her first home after working 7 days a week, how a surprise rehab led to a full renovation, and how reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad launched her into real estate investing. She now owns 14 doors and operates under a strategic BRRRR model—but with a twist.
Instead of traditional long-term tenants, Ewka has found success hosting corporate clients through midterm rentals. She shares the turning point that introduced her to this niche market, how she builds relationships and repeat business with companies like Amazon and NIPSCO, and how her conservative underwriting keeps her portfolio stable and scalable.
 
------------------------------------------------------- Be A Guest Are you a single family home real estate investor or landlord with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://builtforthisshow.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you!