#282 - How to Choose the Right Financing for Your First (or Next) Real Estate Deal - Christian Bachelder
Release Date: 07/09/2025
#312 - Turning Vacant Retail Buildings Into High Cash-Flow Self-Storage - David Pelusio Sr.
Living Off Rentals
Joining us in this episode of Living Off Rentals is a seasoned real estate developer with more than five decades of hands-on experience across residential, commercial, and industrial properties. David Pelusio Sr. has spent over 55 years building, owning, and operating assets ranging from warehouses and shopping centers to large-scale self-storage facilities. Today, his focus is on converting vacant big-box retail buildings into climate-controlled self-storage. Listen as David breaks down why self-storage has remained resilient through economic cycles, how buying properties at the right price...
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#311 - Why Building Income Matters More Than Building Wealth - Dustin Heiner
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Joining us in this episode of Living Off Rentals is returning guest Dustin Heiner, real estate investor, coach, and founder of Master Passive Income. Dustin has been on the show more times than any other guest, and for good reason. After getting laid off from his government job, he began buying rental properties with a clear focus on cash flow. By his late 30s, his rental income had replaced his W-2, giving him full control over his time. In this conversation, Dustin shares why income, not net worth, is the real path to freedom. He breaks down how delayed gratification, intentional...
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#310 - Just Buy a House Already Using Subject-To Deals - William Tingle
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#309 - Building Financial Freedom Through 20+ Real Estate Deals While Serving in the Military - Stu Grazier
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#308 - From Academia to Airbnb: Turning Data into Dollars with Short-Term Rentals - Drew Ivey
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#307 - Building a W-2 Exit Plan with Short-Term Rentals - Stephen Arnaud
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In this episode of Living Off Rentals, host Kirby Atwell sits down with Stephen Arnaud, an engineer, W-2 employee, and father of three, who’s intentionally building his path out of the 9-to-5 through short-term rentals. Stephen shares why, even though he enjoys his career, the demands of a W-2 job started to conflict with family life and long-term freedom. Like many high-performing professionals, he realized that traditional investing alone wasn’t going to give him the flexibility he wanted anytime soon. That realization led him to short-term rentals. If you are still working a 9-to-5 but...
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#306 - Saving Historic Buildings and Creating Value Through Smart Redevelopment - Kevin Kreger
Living Off Rentals
Joining us for today's episode of Living Off Rentals is someone who specializes in historic preservation projects that many investors overlook, but can be transformed into high-performing rental assets. Kevin Kreger is Kirby Atwell's longtime friend and a construction expert. He is the founder of On Point Construction and Fiddle Leaf Development. He breaks down how he transitioned into design-build work and eventually into restoring historic downtown buildings with serious cash-flow potential. Listen as they dive deep into why historic properties aren’t as intimidating as they seem, how to...
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#305 - Building $50K/Month in Passive Income Without Wall Street - Joey Mure
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#304 - How Short-Term Rentals Let Her Quit HR and Take Back Family Time
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#303 - From 9th Grade Dropout to Early Retirement with 150 Real Estate Units - Matt Hawkins
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What does it take to go from dropping out of school in ninth grade to owning more than 150 rental units and retiring in your 40s? Matt Hawkins, also known as the Lumberjack Landlord, is a self-taught investor who now manages over 50 buildings and 400 tenants with just one employee — all from his phone. He joins us on this episode of Living Off Rentals to unpack his incredible journey from humble beginnings to financial freedom. Listen as he shares how early mistakes, creative deal-making (like buying a city-owned police station), and consistent systems helped him build a real estate empire...
info_outlineJoining us in this episode of Living Off Rentals is someone who brings clarity to one of the most confusing parts of real estate investing: financing.
Christian Bachelder is the co-founder of The One Brokerage and one of the most trusted lending advisors in the real estate investing space. He is a UC Berkeley graduate, and a former chemical engineer turned seasoned investor. He now helps others invest in real estate by connecting them with the right financing strategies.
Listen as he breaks down the different types of loans available to investors—from traditional mortgages to DSCR and hard money loans—and how to use them strategically to grow your portfolio.
We also talk about how to qualify for your first loan, when to use each lending product, the truth about BRRRR strategy funding, and why some “creative” financing methods may be more dangerous than they seem.
Enjoy the show!
Key Takeaways:
[00:00] Introducing Christian Bachelder and his background
[02:35] From being a chemical engineer to being an investor and real estate lending
[04:55] The spark that ignited Christian’s obsession with real estate
[08:38] Partnering with David Greene and building The 1 Brokerage
[11:32] How to stay competitive with a large variety of multiple loan products
[14:01] The three buckets of loans every investor should know
[15:55] What is a DSCR Loan, and why do investors love it
[19:27] How the BRRRR loan flow works
[24:44] DSCR loan terms explained: Rates, down payments, and pitfalls
[29:21] Three ways of calculating a rent
[31:35] Talk to your lender first before anybody
[32:48] Loan options for first-time investors
[35:35] 5 proven ways to find down payment funds
[43:00] Why good short-term rentals still win despite market noise
[46:08] Two main things that encompass the creative financing world
[52:58] Connect with Christian Bachelder
Guest Links:
Website: https://www.theonebrokerage.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theonebrokerage/
Youtube Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidGreeneRealEstate
Show Links:
Living Off Rentals YouTube Channel – youtube.com/c/LivingOffRentals
Living Off Rentals YouTube Podcast Channel - youtube.com/c/LivingOffRentalsPodcast
Living Off Rentals Facebook Group – facebook.com/groups/livingoffrentals
Living Off Rentals Website – https://www.livingoffrentals.com/
Living Off Rentals Instagram – instagram.com/livingoffrentals
Living Off Rentals TikTok – tiktok.com/@livingoffrentals