Your First Rental Property: Build Passive Income Without Becoming a Landlord cover art

Your First Rental Property: Build Passive Income Without Becoming a Landlord

Your First Rental Property: Build Passive Income Without Becoming a Landlord

Written by: Lane Kawaoka
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Welcome to Your First Rental—the podcast for high-earning professionals and business owners who want to build passive income without dealing with tenants, toilets, or quitting their day job.


🎁 Start your journey with Lane’s free Remote Rental eCourse at theWealthElevator.com/firstdeal


Host Lane Kawaoka bought his first rental in 2009 while still working as an engineer. By 2015, he owned 11 rentals and has since participated in over $2.1 billion in real estate acquisitions.


This podcast is where Lane gives back, breaking down real estate investing into simple, actionable steps so you can buy cash-flowing properties remotely, avoid newbie mistakes, and finally stop trading time for money.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lane Kawaoka
Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Finance
Episodes
  • Turnkey Rental Cons: Why Single-Family Cash Flow Hits a Ceiling (with Alex Franks)
    May 15 2026

    📚 Unlock the secrets to building wealth! My book and 12-module Masterclass cover everything I’ve learned about passive investing and creating financial freedom. Watch it on-demand for FREE: http://thewealthelevator.com/firstdeal


    🤝 Join the Hui Deal Pipeline Club and get a one-on-one call with me to discuss your investment goals: https://thewealthelevator.com/club


    Host Lane interviews real estate investor Alex Franks about the limitations of turnkey single-family rentals and why many investors stall after building a small portfolio. Franks shares his 17-year path from wholesaling to rehabs, turnkey, new construction, and a current focus on 10–50 unit multifamily, arguing that $200–$300 monthly cash flow per house won’t reach higher income goals without scale. He prefers higher-quality A/B properties, often financed with 20% down Fannie Mae loans, and discusses building new construction rentals due to strong demand and limited supply. They compare strategies on leverage versus accelerating debt payoff, note the 10-loan cap per person, emphasize goal-setting, diversification, and careful market/team selection, and stress networking and investor education.


    00:00 Turnkey Rental Downsides

    00:13 Alex Franks Background

    01:10 Why Single Family Caps Growth

    02:00 Picking Better Turnkeys

    03:03 New Construction Turnkey Model

    03:34 Maxing Out Loans Then What

    03:53 Diversify Into Multifamily

    04:33 Goals And Pathway Planning

    06:41 Leverage Versus Paydown Debate

    10:40 Late Cycle Market Reality

    13:35 Returns Greed And Education

    15:27 Stock Drops Private Capital

    16:49 Due Diligence For Out Of State

    18:10 Networking And Market Selection

    19:16 Wrap Up And Thanks


    Connect with me:

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanekawaoka/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWealthElevator

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheWealthElevator


    Lane Kawaoka is a developer and multi-family syndicator who owns 10,000+ rental units and is the leader of “Hui Deal Pipeline Club” which has acquired over $2.1 Billion AUM of real estate by syndicating over $200 Million Dollars of private equity and most importantly distributed more than $45M back to our investors since 2016.


    Check out our Top-50 Investing Podcast, The Wealth Elevator.

    To help you get started grab our remote rental ecourse at theWealthElevator.com/firstdeal. The preceding is not tax, legal, or investment advice, nor an offer to sell securities or investment products. Always make informed decisions with professional guidance.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    19 mins
  • Lane Kawaoka on Scaling Out-of-State Rentals: 1% Rule, Turnkey vs Agents, Cashflow-First Investing
    Apr 15 2026

    📚 Unlock the secrets to building wealth! My book and 12-module Masterclass cover everything I’ve learned about passive investing and creating financial freedom. Watch it on-demand for FREE: http://thewealthelevator.com/firstdeal


    🤝 Join the Hui Deal Pipeline Club and get a one-on-one call with me to discuss your investment goals: https://thewealthelevator.com/club


    On the Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever Show with Joe Fairless, engineer and podcaster Lane Kawaoka shares how he built a portfolio of 11 out-of-state single-family rentals in markets like Birmingham, Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Pennsylvania after getting priced out of Seattle. He explains his shift from turnkey providers to working with agents for third-party street and rent-roll validation, plus his fast screening method using a 1% rent-to-value ratio and a quick cashflow estimate (about 70% of rent collected after expenses, targeting roughly $200/month after a typical $500 mortgage). Lane discusses financing with conventional Fannie Mae loans up to 10 properties and using a portfolio loan for the 11th, why he took a pay cut to reclaim time, maintenance realities across 10+ homes, and his plan to scale via apartments and syndication. His key advice is to match strategy to your time, money, and knowledge.


    00:00 Podcast Intro

    00:48 Lane Origin Story

    01:58 Time Over Salary

    02:17 Finding Out Of State Deals

    03:34 Turnkey Versus Agents

    05:14 Quick Deal Analysis

    07:35 Financing And Loan Limits

    08:21 Scaling Beyond Single Family

    09:44 Best Advice Skills Triangle

    11:15 Lightning Round Lessons

    13:51 Mistakes And Cashflow Buffer

    14:48 Wrap Up And Where To Find


    Connect with me:

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanekawaoka/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWealthElevator

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheWealthElevator


    Lane Kawaoka is a developer and multi-family syndicator who owns 10,000+ rental units and is the leader of “Hui Deal Pipeline Club” which has acquired over $2.1 Billion AUM of real estate by syndicating over $200 Million Dollars of private equity and most importantly distributed more than $45M back to our investors since 2016.


    Check out our Top-50 Investing Podcast, The Wealth Elevator.

    To help you get started grab our remote rental ecourse at theWealthElevator.com/firstdeal. The preceding is not tax, legal, or investment advice, nor an offer to sell securities or investment products. Always make informed decisions with professional guidance.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • Expert Real Estate Investment Tips: Q&A with Lane
    Mar 6 2026

    📚 Unlock the secrets to building wealth! My book and 12-module Masterclass cover everything I’ve learned about passive investing and creating financial freedom. Watch it on-demand for FREE: http://thewealthelevator.com/firstdeal


    🤝 Join the Hui Deal Pipeline Club and get a one-on-one call with me to discuss your investment goals: https://thewealthelevator.com/club


    In this episode, Lane discusses a recent interaction with an HGTV casting director, his experiences with buying out-of-state rental properties, and answers a series of listener questions. Topics include the necessity of visiting property locations, recommendations for turnkey providers, selecting tenant-grade materials, market analysis for various cities, and managing out-of-state properties. Lane provides insights on investing in newer vs. older homes, handling non-responsive turnkey companies, and the financial viability of investments in different markets. He emphasizes the importance of building trust with local teams and being patient in a competitive seller's market.


    00:00 Introduction and Casting Call Story

    00:24 Listener Questions: Visiting Locations

    01:56 Turnkey Recommendations and Market Analysis

    05:19 Tenant Grade Materials and Upgrades

    10:13 Managing Out-of-State Properties

    11:02 Final Thoughts and Advice


    Connect with me:

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanekawaoka/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWealthElevator

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheWealthElevator


    Lane Kawaoka is a developer and multi-family syndicator who owns 10,000+ rental units and is the leader of “Hui Deal Pipeline Club” which has acquired over $2.1 Billion AUM of real estate by syndicating over $200 Million Dollars of private equity and most importantly distributed more than $45M back to our investors since 2016.


    Check out our Top-50 Investing Podcast, The Wealth Elevator.

    To help you get started grab our remote rental ecourse at theWealthElevator.com/firstdeal. The preceding is not tax, legal, or investment advice, nor an offer to sell securities or investment products. Always make informed decisions with professional guidance.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    8 mins
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