Episodes

  • 79: How I Manage 20+ Rental Properties Without Being On Call 24/7

    79: How I Manage 20+ Rental Properties Without Being On Call 24/7
    Feb 8 2026
    I manage a $5M+ rental property portfolio and I'm never on call. No midnight texts. No emergency calls. No tenant drama. Here's exactly how I do it—and I'm showing you my actual systems in under 10 minutes. In this video, you'll see: ✅ The 3 systems every landlord needs to stop being on call ✅ My exact rent collection platform (and why automation changed everything) ✅ The maintenance portal that eliminated emergency texts ✅ How I centralized tenant communication so nothing falls through the cracks ✅ Why most landlords are stuck as "the system" instead of building one If you're tired of being on call for your rental properties, this video will show you the exact systems I use to run my portfolio without the burnout. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 0:00 - Why I'm never on call for my properties 0:20 - The 3 systems you need 1:30 - System #1: Automated rent collection 3:30 - System #2: Maintenance portal walkthrough 6:00 - System #3: Centralized communication hub 7:30 - How to stop being the system ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ✨ WORK WITH ME ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ If this episode was helpful, you'll love my newsletter. I share practical real estate advice, real stories from the community, and the next smart move you can make. https://erikab.kit.com/f2f4df9a56 Would you like to work with me directly? Book a Call to work with me in 2026! https://calendar.app.google/NMFNL2CYYPMP1FZn7 If you're looking to meet more like-minded people that are interested in building wealth, you'd love being in the room at The Owning It & Living It Experience. It's where real estate strategy, community, and clarity come together to help you make your next smart move. You can grab your ticket before the next price increase. https://experience.owningitandlivingit.com FOLLOW FOR MORE: YouTube for long-form episodes + IG for daily reinvention content. https://www.instagram.com/erikabrowninvestor/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔎 ABOUT ERIKA ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ I'm Erika Brown, CEO of Owning It & Living It. I've built a $5M+ rental property portfolio while working full-time and homeschooling my kids. Now I help high-income professionals scale their rental portfolios with systems, strategy, and support—no burnout required. #rentalpropertyinvesting #landlord #realestateinvesting #propertymanagement #landlordtips #passiveincome #realestatebusiness #landlordlife #rentalproperties #realestateinvestor #propertyinvestment #landlordingsystems
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    8 mins
  • 78: The #1 Rental Property Strategy for 2026 | Real Estate Investing

    78: The #1 Rental Property Strategy for 2026 | Real Estate Investing
    Feb 5 2026
    The rental market is shifting—and not every strategy will win in 2026. So I'm breaking down the best rental property strategy for the year ahead based on what I'm seeing in my $5M+ portfolio and what's working for my students. Whether you're deciding between short-term rentals, mid-term rentals, or long-term rentals—or you're wondering if you should pivot your current strategy—this bonus episode will give you clarity. In this video, I cover: ✅ Why 2026 is different from previous years in real estate ✅ The rental strategy I'm betting on (and why) ✅ Who this strategy is best for (and who should avoid it) ✅ Market trends that are shaping this decision ✅ How to know if you should switch strategies or double down on what you're doing ✅ Real numbers: cash flow, occupancy, and ROI comparisons If you're planning your 2026 rental property strategy, this is the episode that will help you make the smartest move. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 0:00 - Why 2026 is a pivotal year for rental strategies [Add your specific timestamps here when you upload] ✨ JOIN MY NEWSLETTER ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ If this episode was helpful, you'll love my newsletter. I share practical real estate advice, real stories from the community, and the next smart move you can make. https://erikab.kit.com/f2f4df9a56 ✨ WORK WITH ME Would you like to work with me directly? Book a Call to work with me in 2026! https://calendar.app.google/NMFNL2CYYPMP1FZn7 ✨ COME TO MY CONFERENCE If you're looking to meet more like-minded people that are interested in building wealth, you'd love being in the room at The Owning It & Living It Experience. It's where real estate strategy, community, and clarity come together to help you make your next smart move. You can grab your ticket before the next price increase. https://experience.owningitandlivingit.com FOLLOW FOR MORE: YouTube for long-form episodes + IG for daily reinvention content. https://www.instagram.com/erikabrowninvestor/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔎 ABOUT ERIKA ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ I'm Erika Brown, CEO of Owning It & Living It. I've built a $5M+ rental property portfolio while working full-time and homeschooling my kids. Now I help high-income professionals scale their rental portfolios with systems, strategy, and support—no burnout required. #rentalpropertyinvesting #realestateinvesting2026 #rentalstrategy #landlord #shorttermrental #midtermrental #longtermrental #realestateinvestor #landlordtips #propertyinvesting #STR #MTR #LTR #realestate2026 #investmentstrategy
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    14 mins
  • 77: Stop Accepting Rent on Zelle: How Real Landlords Collect Rent Professionally

    77: Stop Accepting Rent on Zelle: How Real Landlords Collect Rent Professionally
    Feb 1 2026
    If you're still accepting rent on Zelle, Venmo, or CashApp, you're not running a real landlord business—you're running a hobby. In this video, I break down why professional rent collection is the #1 system every landlord needs to scale past 1-2 properties, and I'll show you exactly how to set it up in less than 30 minutes. You'll learn: ✅ Why Zelle is costing you money, credibility, and scalability ✅ The best rent collection platforms for landlords (free and paid options) ✅ How to transition your current tenants to professional payment systems ✅ The exact email template to send tenants when making the switch ✅ Why this one system sets the tone for your entire landlord business. If you're serious about building a rental property portfolio that runs like a business (not a side hustle), this is where it starts. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Why Zelle is sabotaging your landlord business 0:30 - The 5 problems with accepting rent on payment apps 3:00 - What professional rent collection looks like 8:00 - The truth about setting expectations with tenants 10:00 - How to make the switch (step-by-step) 📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED Apartments.com (free rent collection) 🔹 Avail 🔹 TenantCloud 🔹 Buildium 🔹 RentRedi . Baselane ✨ WORK WITH ME If this episode was helpful, you'll love my newsletter. I share practical real estate advice, real stories from the community, and the next smart move you can make. https://erikab.kit.com/f2f4df9a56 ✨ Would you like to work with me directly? Book a Call to work with me in 2026! https://calendar.app.google/NMFNL2CYYPMP1FZn7 ✨If you're looking to meet more like-minded people who are interested in building wealth, you'd love being in the room at The Owning It & Living It Experience. It's where real estate strategy, community, and clarity come together to help you make your next smart move. You can grab your ticket before the next price increase. https://experience.owningitandlivingit.com ✨FOLLOW FOR MORE: YouTube for long-form episodes + IG for daily reinvention content. https://www.instagram.com/erikabrowninvestor/ 🔎 ABOUT ERIKA I'm Erika Brown, CEO of Owning It & Living It. I've built a $5M+ rental property portfolio while working full-time and homeschooling my kids. Now I help high-income professionals scale their rental portfolios with systems, strategy, and support—no burnout required. #landlord #rentalpropertyinvesting #realestateinvesting #propertymanagement #landlordtips #rentcollection #realestatebusiness #passiveincome #wealthbuilding
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    13 mins
  • 76: My Worst Property Management Nightmare (The Squatter That Almost Made Me Quit Real Estate)

    76: My Worst Property Management Nightmare (The Squatter That Almost Made Me Quit Real Estate)
    Jan 25 2026
    🚨 I found a SQUATTER in my rental property, and it almost made me quit real estate forever. This is the property management nightmare story every landlord needs to hear. In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on my WORST real estate investing experience and the expensive lesson that changed how I invest forever. You will learn the difference between landlord-friendly states and non-landlord-friendly states... You might also like: How Property Management can make or break your real estate investments https://youtu.be/XFQ8acPTMmg If you’re trying to decide whether to self-manage your rentals or hire a property manager, this episode is for you.I break down:• What went wrong with my property management• How I found out I had a squatter• Why investing in a landlord-friendly state is not the same as a landlord-friendly city• The hard lessons I learned the hard way• And why, despite everything, I’m still investing in real estate today. This episode isn’t meant to scare you—but it is meant to prepare you.If you’re a landlord, a real estate investor, or someone debating between self-managing or hiring a property manager, this conversation will help you think differently about risk, systems, and where you choose to invest. Sometimes the lessons that hurt the most are the ones that make us better investors. 🎧 Listen now and learn from my experience so you don’t have to repeat it. ✨If this episode was helpful, you’ll love my newsletter. I share practical real estate advice, real stories from the community, and the next smart move you can make.https://erikab.kit.com/f2f4df9a56 ✨ If this episode resonated with you, you’d love being in the room at The Owning It & Living It Experience. It’s where real estate strategy, community, and clarity come together to help you make your next smart move. You can grab your ticker before the next price increase. -https://experience.owningitandlivingit.com ✨ Would you like to work with me directly? Book a Call to work with me in 2026!:https://calendar.app.google/NMFNL2CYYPMP1FZn7 ✨ FOLLOW FOR MORE:YouTube for long-form episodes + IG for daily reinvention content.https://www.instagram.com/erikabrowninvestor/
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    25 mins
  • 75: How to Use Real Estate to Pay $0 in Taxes on Your W2 Income (Even With 1 Property) w/ Amanda Han

    75: How to Use Real Estate to Pay $0 in Taxes on Your W2 Income (Even With 1 Property) w/ Amanda Han
    Jan 18 2026
    If you're making $100K-$300K+ and watching 30-40% of your paycheck disappear to taxes every year, this episode will change everything. You're not stuck paying those taxes — you just haven't learned the strategy wealthy investors use to legally eliminate their tax burden. In this episode, CPA and tax strategist Amanda Han reveals exactly how high-income W2 earners can use real estate (even just ONE rental property) to offset their W2 income and pay little to ZERO in taxes — 100% legally. What You'll Learn: ✅ Why your CPA isn't telling you about these strategies (and why most tax returns leave money on the table) ✅ The depreciation "loophole" that offsets your W2 income dollar-for-dollar ✅ How rental property tax benefits work — even if you only own one property ✅ Real examples of high earners cutting their tax bill to $0 legally ✅ The biggest misconceptions keeping W2 earners overpaying taxes ✅ Why tax planning is NOT just for the ultra-wealthy (it's for YOU) Here's the truth: The tax code is designed to reward real estate investors. And you don't need 10 properties or millions of dollars to start — you can do this with ONE rental property and the right strategy. These strategies help you build wealth without taking on excessive debt or adding stress to your life. And if you want a deeper breakdown of the biggest roadblocks keeping landlords stuck — and how to fix them this year — make sure you're registered for my January webinar. ✨ REGISTER FOR MY FREE CLASS The 3 Biggest Roadblocks Keeping Landlords From Scaling — and How to Fix It January 20, 2026 at 7PM ET via Zoom 👉 https://owningitandlivingit.com/landl... ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Introduction: The $5 Million Tax Problem 10:05 - Understanding Tax Planning vs. Tax Preparation 15:20 - Common Tax Misconceptions High Earners Believe 26:21 - Optimizing Your Tax Returns: What CPAs Miss ✨ UPCOMING: Early Bird for The OILI Experience 2026 is now open. Grab your ticket before prices increase! 👉https://experience.owningitandlivingit.com/ ✨ Book a Call to Work With Me in 2026: 👉 https://calendar.app.google/TLxiux4ztwZvSyCm6 ✨ FOLLOW FOR MORE: 📺 YouTube for long-form episodes 📱 IG for daily reinvention content: @erikabrowninvestor #TaxStrategies #RealEstateInvesting #HighIncomeEarners #TaxPlanning #RentalProperty #WealthBuilding #TaxSavings #RealEstateTaxes #DepreciationStrategy #LandlordTips This episode is perfect for high-income W2 earners, business owners, and landlords ready to stop overpaying the IRS and start building wealth through smart tax planning.
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    28 mins
  • 74: 3 Ways to Increase Landlord Income Without Buying More Properties

    74: 3 Ways to Increase Landlord Income Without Buying More Properties
    Jan 11 2026
    If you want a stronger cash flow this year, don’t start by buying another property — start by increasing the income potential of the properties you already own. In this episode, I’m sharing three simple but powerful ways landlords can increase their income in 2026, including: • adjusting your rental strategy to higher-income models like mid-term rentals, short-term rentals, or co-living • adding revenue-producing units such as ADUs, basements, or garage conversions • reducing vacancy — the silent income killer that drains landlords every year • and the small administrative tweaks (like cutting unused subscriptions) that add up big over time These strategies help your rentals perform better without taking on more debt or adding extra stress. And if you want a deeper breakdown of the biggest roadblocks keeping landlords stuck — and how to fix them this year — make sure you're registered for my January webinar. ✨ REGISTER FOR MY FREE CLASS The Biggest Roadblocks Keeping Landlords From Scaling — and How to Fix It January 20, 2026 at 7PM ET via Zoom https://owningitandlivingit.com/landlord/ ✨ UPCOMING: Early Bird for The OILI Experience 2026 is now open. Grab your ticket before the prices increase! https://experience.owningitandlivingit.com ✨ Book a Call to Work With Me in 2026!: https://calendar.app.google/NMFNL2CYYPMP1FZn7 ✨ FOLLOW FOR MORE: YouTube for long-form episodes + IG for daily reinvention content. https://www.instagram.com/erikabrowninvestor/
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    11 mins
  • 73: 3 Ways to Cut Your Landlord Expenses in 2026 | Maximize Rental Property Profits

    73: 3 Ways to Cut Your Landlord Expenses in 2026 | Maximize Rental Property Profits
    Jan 4 2026
    If you’re stepping into 2026 determined to improve your cash flow, protect your rentals, and scale smarter, this episode is for you. We’re kicking off the year by talking about the real opportunities available for landlords in 2026 — and the roadblocks that keep so many people stuck. Before you make another move, you need clarity on what’s holding your portfolio back and how to break through it this year. Inside this episode, I’m sharing three simple but powerful ways to cut your expenses as a landlord — strategies most investors overlook, even though they can save hundreds (and sometimes thousands) each year: • How smart thermostats and routine HVAC servicing prevent expensive repairs • Why an annual insurance review is non-negotiable — and how raising your deductible can reduce premiums • How disciplined landlords can manage property taxes through a high-yield savings account • why hiring a real-estate-friendly CPA is one of the most profitable decisions you can make in 2026 These changes aren’t flashy — but they are transformative. This is how you protect your cash flow, strengthen your rentals, and scale with confidence this year. And if you’re ready to remove the roadblocks that have been holding you back, make sure you’re registered for my free January webinar: ✨ REGISTER FOR MY FREE CLASS The Biggest Roadblocks Keeping Landlords From Scaling — and How to Fix It January 20, 2026 at 7PM ET via Zoom ​​https://owningitandlivingit.com/landlord/ Come to my Conference!✨ Early Bird for The OILI Experience 2026 is now open. Grab your ticket before the prices increase! https://experience.owningitandlivingit.com Book a Call to Work With Me in 2026!✨ Would you like to work with me this year? Book a call with me! https://calendar.app.google/NMFNL2CYYPMP1FZn7 FOLLOW FOR MORE: YouTube for long-form episodes + IG for daily reinvention content. https://www.instagram.com/erikabrowninvestor/
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    15 mins
  • 72: How to Make More Money in Real Estate Investing: 3 Proven Strategies for Landlords

    72: How to Make More Money in Real Estate Investing: 3 Proven Strategies for Landlords
    Jan 1 2026
    Feeling stuck in your real estate investing journey? Want to scale your rental portfolio but not sure where to start? In this episode, I'm breaking down the three proven strategies that successful landlords use to make more money and grow their portfolios faster. If you're tired of spinning your wheels and ready to make real progress this year, these strategies will transform how you approach your real estate investing business. 🎯 In This Episode, You'll Discover: Strategy #1: The #1 Way Successful Real Estate Investors Make Decisions Learn the decision-making framework that separates investors who scale from those who stay stuck. This isn't about gut feelings—it's about a proven system. Strategy #2: The Tools You Need to Guide Your Investment Decisions Stop guessing and start using data to make smarter investment choices. I'll share the essential tools that will help you analyze deals, track performance, and maximize your ROI. Strategy #3: Why Doing Everything Yourself Is Holding You Back The DIY approach might save money upfront, but it's costing you time, growth, and ultimately more money. Discover how to leverage your time and resources to scale faster. 📅 FREE LIVE CLASS - JANUARY 20TH ON ZOOM Ready to get unstuck and scale your rental portfolio in 2026? Join me for a free live class where I'll help you create a personalized action plan to grow your real estate portfolio this year. 👉 Register here: https://owningitandlivingit.com/landlord/ ✨ Book a Call to work with me in 2026!: https://calendar.app.google/NMFNL2CYYPMP1FZn7 ✨ FOLLOW FOR MORE: YouTube for long-form episodes + IG for daily reinvention content. https://www.instagram.com/erikabrowninvestor/
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    10 mins