• Evaluate Hammond, Indiana rentals using verified local demand and full expenses; Lindsay reported about $400 monthly cash flow on a $135,000 home, but those historical results aren’t guaranteed today.
• Consider Gary, Indiana only after careful neighborhood and property due diligence: Lindsay reported $1,100 monthly rent on a renovated home, while noting the market can be rougher and rental supply is a concern.
• For out-of-state purchases, build a reliable local team of investors, realtors, and property managers before committing.
• Explore seller financing by presenting sellers with alternative offers, but confirm that the price, interest rate, down payment, and repayment terms work for you.
• If you own a home, consider room rentals or an ADU to offset housing costs, while budgeting for permits, construction overruns, and rental-market risk.

Northwest Indiana Single-Family Rentals

Lindsay invested in Hammond and Gary, Indiana, rather than buying additional rentals in high-cost Los Angeles.

• Her first out-of-state purchase was a three-bedroom, two-bath home in Hammond for $135,000, using a conventional loan with 25% down and a 6.1% interest rate. It rented for $1,400 per month; she estimated about $400 per month after the $880 debt service and property management.
• She later bought a Gary home for $55,000, put about $16,000 into repairs, and rented it to a Section 8 voucher holder for $1,100 per month. She cited monthly debt service of $388.
• Lindsay said Gary is a rougher market than Hammond, but she saw the potential for stronger cash flow and value-add opportunities. She focused on a small number of zip codes and single-family homes, saying there was more rental supply than renter demand for some other property types.
• She selected the market partly because she found local investors, realtors, and property managers who could share neighborhood-level information and help manage properties from a distance.

Takeaways

• Compare markets using both the purchase and operating numbers, and investigate local rental demand—not just headline rents or low purchase prices.
• For out-of-state investing, Lindsay’s experience highlights the value of building a local team and learning which specific areas they will and will not work in.
• Her reported rents and cash flow are examples from her purchases, not a guarantee of current returns. Gary’s rougher conditions and the area’s rental supply were concerns she considered.

BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat)

Lindsay used a BRRRR-style approach to try to recover capital from a renovated Gary property and use it again.

• She bought a house for about $33,000 and initially expected to spend roughly $30,000 on renovations. She thought its after-repair value would be around $85,000.
• Just before a planned refinance, a fire damaged the newly renovated house. Lindsay said the fire itself was small, but the fire department’s forced entry and water caused additional damage. She spent about $11,000 on a second round of repairs.
• The later appraisal came in at $160,000, higher than she had estimated. She said the refinance allowed her to recover the money she had put into the project.
• She had financed the project using a HELOC on her primary residence, rather than savings.

Takeaways

• BRRRR can potentially recycle invested capital, but Lindsay’s story shows that renovation budgets and value estimates can be wrong in either direction.
• Account for the possibility of unexpected damage and additional renovation costs before relying on a refinance to fund the next purchase.
• Lindsay used borrowed money secured by her home; that approach exposes a primary residence to risk if a project or repayment plan goes poorly.

Seller Financing and Creative Offers

Lindsay said five of her 12 properties were acquired with seller financing, and her most recent deal involved 0% down.

• She asked her realtor to submit both a cash offer and a seller-financing offer. In her example, she might offer $50,000 cash or $60,000 with seller-financing terms that were more favorable to her, such as a lower interest rate or down payment.
• She said seller financing was more likely to work with sellers who had previously invested in real estate and already understood the arrangement.
• She found opportunities through her local investor network and people who contacted her after she began publishing real estate content.

Takeaways

• Presenting different offer structures can help identify what matters most to a seller and create room to negotiate terms, not just price.
• The terms must work for both sides; Lindsay’s example illustrates a negotiating approach, not a standard or guaranteed financing arrangement.
• Her experience suggests that seller financing may be more feasible with knowledgeable, motivated sellers, rather than sellers unfamiliar with the concept.

Los Angeles House Hacking and ADUs

Lindsay first rented rooms in her Los Angeles home to traveling nurses, then added an accessory dwelling unit (ADU).

• Renting rooms helped offset her mortgage and gave her more income to deploy toward investments.
• She built an ADU and rented it as a midterm rental for $2,000 per month.
• She was also seeking permits for another ADU, described as a three-bedroom, two-bath unit. She was considering midterm rental or Airbnb use but had not decided.

Takeaways

• Renting part of a home can reduce housing costs while helping build funds for future investments; Lindsay described this as a stepping stone to buying rentals.
• An ADU can add rental income to an existing property, but Lindsay’s second unit was still in the permitting stage and its rental strategy was undecided.
• Lindsay’s broader approach was to use real estate income, along with her house hack and ADU, to create financial flexibility before leaving her W-2 job.