[00:03:12] Patrick Donley: So I just want to thank you first for your time today and telling your story. You’ve got a really awesome and amazing story that we’re going to get into here. But I first wanted to talk to you a little bit about your family. I know family’s hugely important to you. I wanted to hear about your life growing up.

[00:03:28] Patrick Donley: I know that you came from a family of successful business people and entrepreneurs, and I wanted to hear about just your parents, what it was like growing up and how they influenced you in your business life today. 

[00:03:40] Marissa Solis: Great. Thank you so much for having me here. It’s, I’m excited to share my story. I believe that a lot of my values are from my parents, so it’s, imagine a home with 10 children, mom and dad, and business running from the home and everywhere.

[00:03:58] Marissa Solis: Our days will start at 5:00 AM you know, because as the time our family wakes up, and so what I learned from them is discipline, consistency, honoring your work, building great relationships. They had a lot of friends, a lot of business associates, they were very popular, almost like a celebrity, but in business.

[00:04:21] Marissa Solis: But they were very much into being close to everyone they were with, like I remember for Christmas they would have the table for like maybe like 300 gifts for everybody, and they were hand deliver back on the day relationships and was the key for everything. And talking to my father one day, I said, you know, Papa, what make you so successful?

[00:04:46] Marissa Solis: And he said, I always give people what they wanted first and then myself. So I come out with grow in a family like that. And also giving back to the need to people that are in need. Or just anyone. Like if somebody sons got sick or something, they will put the money for the medicine or they will refer them to a doctor.

[00:05:08] Marissa Solis: So I was very blessed to grow out in a family, in a large family where you need to survive, otherwise you don’t need, you need to really put yourself almost in a fight mode most of the time to survive, you know? And it was just great growing up in nature and traveling on the weekends, camping. It was fun.

[00:05:32] Patrick Donley: So what kind of businesses were they involved in? 

[00:05:35] Marissa Solis: My family is the largest meat producer in Mexico, so the cattle business. But lemme tell you an interesting thing about cattle business. We basically put the cattle because we’ll buy them and still buy them at a much lower weight, and then you feed them so they gain more weight.

[00:05:54] Marissa Solis: So basically you add value by making them bigger and a little fatty. And that’s how you flip a cattle and maybe, you know, make a profit out of. 

[00:06:06] Patrick Donley: Did you help out in the family business growing up? 

[00:06:09] Marissa Solis: Yes. When I was in first grade, I was already counting money. I was checking that all the deposits were in and the checks were out.

[00:06:18] Marissa Solis: So I was basically my mother’s assistant, she was the CFO of the company and it was from the house. We had an office and we all worked from there. Were you the oldest child? I’m the oldest girl. So I told my mom I one made the dishes. But that’ll help you with the company. 

[00:06:36] Patrick Donley: Yeah. So where in Mexico was that you grew up?

[00:06:42] Marissa Solis: Which is in the north part of Mexico. 

[00:06:45] Patrick Donley: When you graduated from high school, did you have any career aspirations of joining the family business or did you want to do something separate and different from your family? 

[00:06:56] Marissa Solis: At my age when I was growing up, there was a big difference between being a son and a daughter.

[00:07:02] Marissa Solis: And I realized that my journey will be different for two reasons. Number one, I didn’t want to be traditionally a wealthy wife with a housekeeper, and that was my life or live in a different country where opportunity was more equal. So the first opportunity I have, I met Jonathans and Jeffrey’s dad, and you know, I married in Mexico and I came to live in the United States because I just felt like that was my journey and I knew I wasn’t going to have the same opportunities.

[00:07:39] Marissa Solis: Cause I can see it feeling, and I didn’t want to put my parents in a position where there was, you know, like fights or something within the family. So I knew I have to do my own. 

[00:07:51] Patrick Donley: I saw that you had a degree in journalism in Mexico. Was that a possibility that you were considering? At a young age? 

[00:07:58] Marissa Solis: That was my dream. But my mother’s son, listen, you’re not going to make money that way. You gotta go into business to study business. And I was a very good child. I say what my parents say to ask me to do and that’s how, but I did study and I used to write in the paper in Mexico, even though I was under 18, but somebody else signed it.

[00:08:19] Marissa Solis: But I was a writer and I just love everything related to, to be more profound in a story and just like get into what it is and what’s possible. And I do apply it in my business, believe it or not. That sense of, you know, discovering and creating. Are you a big reader? Do you love to read? I love to read.

[00:08:43] Marissa Solis: Yes. I don’t read as much as I used to, but because it’s just, I’m pretty busy and you know, it’s kind of everything I’m reading is about the industry and keeping up with everything. But I would like to spend more time reading. 

[00:09:00] Patrick Donley: So how old were you when you got married and around what year was that when you first came to the United States?

[00:09:07] Marissa Solis: I came in 1983. I was 19 years old and I became a mother at 21. 

[00:09:15] Patrick Donley: And then you also went to USC and graduated in small business. What was that like were you, did you have Jonathan at that point when you were going to school? 

[00:09:25] Marissa Solis: I did it much later, but it was more like a for a small business and they train you in different, in all aspects of the business.

[00:09:33] Marissa Solis: And I was probably one of the people that participate the most in the class because I had the most business experience. And you know, it was great. It was just made me more aware of things and have a bigger perspective. 

[00:09:50] Patrick Donley: When you graduated from there, did you start your own small businesses? You probably had that in mind that you were going to do something entrepreneurial, I presume.

[00:09:59] Patrick Donley: Did you start something on your own around then? 

[00:10:01] Marissa Solis: Actually my career started, I got my real estate license when I was expecting Jonathan, so I was 20 when I got my license. And the way I started my career is by being a real estate agent, and my first sale was a for sale by owner. I told my first husband, I can sell this condo, I can send it slide, but you’re not licensed.

[00:10:25] Marissa Solis: And then I say, I can sell it on my own. So I put it in the newspapers. Back in the day it was like this, the Spanish newspaper, I put it there and I got like three calls. And I had one showing, but I didn’t let calls that join and I sold it to them. You know, many times they wanted to be against the deal, but I keep communicating with them and they just, until we close the deal and at the end was a closing because back on the day you’ll go to escrow, you know, she’s like, I’m $500 short, and I like, I can lend it to you for three months.

[00:11:03] Marissa Solis: So I work at a credit and we close and she pay the money within a month. But you know, I just like, we can’t do it because we don’t have enough money. I am very creative and resolve any situation that I need to resolve. 

[00:11:19] Patrick Donley: So you had a hundred percent conversion rate, you had one person that looked at the property.

[00:11:24] Patrick Donley: Tell me some of, like what did you, had you done any kind of sales or like you said you had experience with the cattle business. Did that come into play a little bit with learning how to sell real estate? 

[00:11:34] Marissa Solis: You know, I had a great experience when I was 17 and I was doing fundraising for a school that needed funds and I didn’t know what I was doing, but they just like, I knew somebody and say, can you help us with this?

[00:11:50] Marissa Solis: And later I found out they gave me the most difficult account because you know, they say maybe, you know, like, I don’t know what, but I got the most difficult account, which was all the government officials and you know, I was just able to raise the money. I the first time like, oh yeah, come back tomorrow and pick up the check.

[00:12:11] Marissa Solis: And I went back and no check. The next time I’m like, no, you know, they will say, come back. I say, well, today is my deadline, so I need to pay the check today. I learned very quickly that, okay, that didn’t work, so I’m just going to get the money now. And every time I make a mistake, I learn from that situation and implement it right away.

[00:12:34] Marissa Solis: Because, I mean, I always tell my kids I’m the person that has made the most mistakes because I the most experience in the family and it’s just something happens, I learn from it implemented, and that’s how I live my life. Even being a mother too I mean, I can make a lot of mistakes too. 

[00:12:53] Patrick Donley: Yeah. But you don’t view them as mistakes, it sounds like it’s more like a learning experience that you gained something from.

[00:12:58] Patrick Donley: Yeah. Yes. Yes. So I, that first condo that you sold, it was your own, at that point, you did not have your real estate agent’s license, correct? No, I didn’t. Tell us what happened next. You sold the place and.

[00:13:12] Marissa Solis: I mean, once I sold the condo, many of the owners wanted for me to sell the condos. I like, okay, let me get my real estate license.

[00:13:21] Marissa Solis: So as soon as I got my license, I got couple of listings. And my journey was, I always been focused on my family. So I, being a mother was very important to me. What I start doing is just doing like two flips a year, so it allowed me to take my kids with me. Even when I had an open house, I had my kids with me Cause it was my pride.

[00:13:43] Marissa Solis: So if somebody wanted to work with me, it’s I a full package. I, not just Marissa, it’s me and my kids. It was never an issue because I mean they were good kids and I was able to still be with them and do what I needed to do and that’s how all my voice, not real estate. 

[00:14:01] Patrick Donley: Yeah. So that they had a great education just growing up really at a super young age.

[00:14:06] Patrick Donley: At your knee, like learning the business from the ground up. Yes. Literally. When you got your real estate license and you had some of the people in the condominium complex ask you to sell their condos, I presume that went well. Is that when you first started to get the itch for real estate and think like this could be a career.

[00:14:24] Marissa Solis: Yeah, I think one of the gifts that I have, you know, when I work with sellers, I try to get the best offer and the most money possible within reason. And that’s kind of my passion to multiply money. I think multiplying money for people, it’s just allow them to do what they need to do. And then for me, it gives me a sense of responsibility and honoring my commitment with them.

[00:14:50] Marissa Solis: It’s something that I really enjoy. 

[00:14:53] Patrick Donley: So at that point, you said you were buying one or two houses to flip a year. Did you get started with your husband at that time or were you doing these deals on your own? 

[00:15:03] Marissa Solis: I was doing these deals on my own because for me it was my career, so I was doing it on my own. 

[00:15:11] Patrick Donley: So I wanted to hear more about that. How did you get the confidence to do those first flips? There’s a lot of real estate agents that are around the industry, but they never get involved in doing their own deals. Tell us about how you got the confidence just to do that first deal, the first flip and a little bit about what that was like, that process for you.

[00:15:30] Marissa Solis: What I did, I was looking at other people that were doing that. I was living in the west side and I noticed many people were doing a two bedroom, one bath and then converting it to three bedrooms to bath, and all of a sudden they can get a hundred thousand more. And I like, I want to do that. And that’s how I got the confidence because I’m like, if they are doing it, I can do it.

[00:15:53] Marissa Solis: And I knew values and I knew sales and I just, I said I can do it. And I did one and it went perfect. I did two and so on. So every year I kept consistent. And since I was a listing agent, I was a buyer’s agent. When I buy it, I was a listing agent, so I was making money as a selling agent, as a listing agent, and as developer, I was making money three ways, which we became very profitable.

[00:16:23] Patrick Donley: And so I want to get your opinion on something. There’s a lot of real estate agents that haven’t done what you have done, which has built a, an amazing real estate portfolio. You’ve done, I think, over 500 flips at this point. What’s your theory on why more real estate agents don’t get involved in the investment side of things and build out their own portfolio?

[00:16:41] Marissa Solis: Mindset and not knowing that they can do it and I think it takes a lot of courage, dedication and just like, you gotta work very hard because there is many aspects when you are flipping a property, you gotta, it’s a huge responsibility, you know, like I do a great job and I’m always constantly challenging myself. And I believe, I think the financial aspect too, because you know, you need certain amount of money to do a flip and its a high risk business, so people.

[00:17:19] Marissa Solis: When you play this game, as much money as you can make is even more money you can lose. So it’s a big game. I mean, in a property like you can easily lose a hundred to hundred thousand in couple of months. So when you see those kind of situations, you know, I will say 90% of the people are out because people in general are afraid to lose money.

[00:17:45] Marissa Solis: I’m not afraid to lose money, like I don’t lose the sleepover losing money. To me, it’s not about the money, it’s about the creation. It’s about providing a better quality of life to people. So I never afraid to lose money or to make money, you know, either way, I think it’s more about the risk and the limited factors that we put in our mind.

[00:18:11] Patrick Donley: Yeah, those are good points. As we mentioned, you’ve got a family owned business. You’ve got five sons, three of which are involved. Jonathan and Jeff have gone off to do JB two investments and doing some investments in the Midwest, which we’ll talk about here shortly. But I wanted to hear about how you balance being a mother with being basically their boss as the CEO.

[00:18:31] Patrick Donley: That’s a really tricky dynamic. How do you balance that? 

[00:18:35] Marissa Solis: It’s a great question. Being a CEO and running multiple businesses, and that’s a very stressful job. Working with my children, with my five sons has been challenging. However, it feels character, meaning that you can have a fight, but because there’s this stress and love, you can overcome anything.

[00:19:00] Marissa Solis: Balancing the way I see balance in my life is like I focus in what I need to do right now. The next moment. The next moment together with a big mission. And to me that create balance where I know where I’m going and what I know, what I’m going to do. And as a mother, the way I have created balance, it’s just by knowing that, expressing my love and being available, you know, it’s my kids call me.

[00:19:26] Marissa Solis: I’m available. Like no matter how busy I am, I’m always available. If I need to lose a deal because I need to be available for them, I will. So I’m available because I think that’s a core value for me. Like it’s my friend or my family, I’m going to be available. But I want that as also someone to be available for me because that’s what’s going to help me.

[00:19:51] Marissa Solis: Trouble or situation that I’m not able to handle it on my own. 

[00:19:57] Patrick Donley: Yeah, it sounds like it goes back to some of the lessons that you learned from your parents about their giving mentality, and I wanted to hear a little bit about if you put much pressure on the, on your sons to join the family business, or did you leave things up to them?

[00:20:09] Patrick Donley: I know in 2008, Jonathan had graduated around then 2008, Jonathan had graduated from USC. And as we all know, that was a difficult time, economically tough to find a job. At that point, he joined the family business. Was it an expectation on your part that the sons would join you in business or did you encourage them to find their own way?

[00:20:31] Marissa Solis: I didn’t encourage them to be in the business. It was more like in Jonathan’s case, he couldn’t find a good job and I just said, why don’t you give it a try for real estate? And that’s how he came and work. And he tried and you know, he find his way around. The other ones, they just came on their own. But Jonathan, I did mention to him, because you can’t get a job, you know, just come and try this.

[00:20:55] Marissa Solis: You know, I’ll teach you what I know. And that was, I work well together with all of the boys. It is tough. It is tough because I like excellence and, you know, and I strive for that. So it is difficult when they are young, you know, they don’t have the same experience. 

[00:21:15] Patrick Donley: This might be a little sensitive, but do you find that you have to manage some sons differently than others like everyone has a different personality and temperament? Is that something that you think about how to deal effectively with one son versus the other? 

[00:21:29] Marissa Solis: You know, recently I started to do that, but before no one size fits all kind of thing is like, I tougher with my kids than with other employees because, I just want to bring the best saddles then and I, not permissible.

[00:21:46] Marissa Solis: I had always been a very strict part in, and I just think that my kids are good because I was tough. And it’s the same thing in business. You’ve gotta be tough. But I do believe it’s good to relate to people accordingly to how they process things. However, I’m kind of transforming my leadership right now to that right now because I come from LEO school.

[00:22:11] Patrick Donley: Tell us a little bit about the company NELA. How many employees do you have? How many projects do you have going on right now? You’re in the LA market. Talk to us a little bit about the business and maybe like your competitive edge that you feel that you have. 

[00:22:26] Marissa Solis: NELA stands for Northeast Los Angeles and we were ones that we are the leaders in the community for flipping properties and what we are known for is to have great designs and quality.

[00:22:41] Marissa Solis: So our competitive advantage is designed good quality and attention to the client. You know, like if something happens after escrow we try to help them or during escrow. So our closing rate is like 99% because we try to work it out with the buyers when we are in escrow and if there is any issues we always try to make the client happy even though it costs us money.

[00:23:08] Patrick Donley: And then how many employees and how many projects do you have going on Right now? 

[00:23:12] Marissa Solis: We have 17 and we are about 21 and some of them are mostly and our construction, 

[00:23:21] Patrick Donley: 21 projects that are flips at the moment? 

[00:23:24] Marissa Solis: 17 projects. They’re not all clips center, our new construction and apartment building. Small lot division. It’s a mix.

[00:23:36] Patrick Donley: Okay, so we talked a little bit about when Jonathan joined the business in 2008, and I lived through this 2008 and the, you know, the difficulty in the real estate market was really a tough time. At that point, I wanted to hear just how you handled 2008 and what you went through. How many homes had you flipped at that point?

[00:23:57] Patrick Donley: You had built quite a sizable flipping company at that point when 2008 came around, correct? 

[00:24:03] Marissa Solis: Yes. It was very devastating because we lost everything and more. However, we didn’t owe money to anyone. So in 2000 and temporary, I went to do more of my brokerage to raise more money. But you know, one day I was thinking, you know, I can from a wealthy family.

[00:24:24] Marissa Solis: So I’m like, okay, this is the time. So I asked one of my brothers is he will lend me money. And that’s how we started the business again. And then we raised some friends and family money, but my main support was my brother and then some other friends. So it was family and friends basically. And that’s how we relaunch the company.

[00:24:47] Marissa Solis: I had studied trust sales and foreclosures in 1988. I knew how to do the business and I’m like, okay, this is the way to go because everything is a foreclosure. And I work with banks where I was a manage scenario manager for them, and then I did the trust sales. So that combined me just started to Grow.

[00:25:11] Patrick Donley: When 2008 hit and the crisis really was felt. How many projects did you have on the books that you had to deal with? 

[00:25:19] Marissa Solis: We had maybe 10, but even every one of them, we were losing like half of the money. It was just a lot of money being lost and when it hit, you not believe it. So I think that we didn’t react as quickly as we needed to react.

[00:25:36] Marissa Solis: And the longer you took to sell every project, the more money we will be losing. But at that point you realize, okay, you either sell it to pay or there was no possibility at that point to keep it as a rental because the financing was tough and it was just a total disaster. But what I did, I clear out the books of everything and then restart like new in 2009, in the summer of 2009.

[00:26:04] Patrick Donley: So what was that like for you, just from a psychological standpoint? I think you had to let most of the employees go. I believe you kept your accountant from the story that I heard. 

[00:26:14] Marissa Solis: Yeah. I kept my accountant in, like the maintenance guy who took care of all the properties and all of that. It was difficult, but you know, as you see your projections and you don’t have money, like my philosophy don’t make people work if you can pay them.

[00:26:31] Marissa Solis: So I like, I’ll better let them know right away so they can find another job. And from the psychological part, I was just, I wasn’t like devastated because I have my children and I have my health and I just was more like, like, how can I make money right now? So what I know, like I can make money without any money selling real estate.

[00:26:55] Marissa Solis: So I started kidding doors. The phones call, calling, knocking on doors, talking to past clients, just make a lot of moves to make money right away. And I did, you know, because once I hit the phones, why I start talking to people and work hard, you know, it’s just a matter of time. And it was very quickly. I mean, once I start doing that, I start getting money within two or three months.

[00:27:20] Marissa Solis: The cycle stayed about two, three months when you as an agent to see your results. And it was just, I wasn’t thinking like, oh, we lost all of this. It’s more like, what? How can I make money right now? Cause I couldn’t think about the past. I needed to be present. I needed to put food on the table, pay my mortgage, pay card, gas, everything.

[00:27:40] Marissa Solis: The basic. 

[00:27:42] Patrick Donley: So it sounds like you sold everything off, kind of had a clean slate to start, and then when Jonathan started, it really in some ways was a great time to be entering the business and buying properties. So what kind of things were you seeing in terms of opportunities? What was available around 2000, let’s say nine as things not necessarily improved, but you were able to buy stuff at fire sale prices.

[00:28:07] Patrick Donley: Talk to us about some of the deals that you were seeing. 

[00:28:10] Marissa Solis: One of the first little that Jonathan and I bought, the trustee sell was like, we bought it like for 70,000, sold it for one 40. And I’m estimating the numbers, but you know, we just, we did it like in 70 days, in 42 days, and we bought it at the auction.

[00:28:26] Marissa Solis: Just kind of clean it up that we say in the business, put it in the market. We had 21 offers because things always sell at the right price. And so I made sure that the appraisal, everything went through, I will meet every appraiser because like if you provide the appraiser with the information than it’s easier for them to bring the properties at value because in those days, the appraisers were upgrade and one of the issues we’ll have is having the values, not what we were selling it for.

[00:28:59] Marissa Solis: So I made sure I went to every single appraisal and I prepare myself and. Muscles then came to value. Maybe one or 2% didn’t but muscles then. So it was just being focusing what we were doing. But there were plenty of deals at the cell. There were so many aerials. There were more, but there were less discounted.

[00:29:20] Marissa Solis: And then you had the probates, but we mostly bought trust the selves. 

[00:29:25] Patrick Donley: So that home that you sold for one 40, what would that home sell for today? 

[00:29:29] Marissa Solis: Today it’ll probably sell for about a million. One over a million. Wow. Pretty while. Yeah. Keep all those then. 

[00:29:38] Patrick Donley: Yeah. I wanted to back up to, I heard you say something about the appraisals.

[00:29:41] Patrick Donley: You would go to those and make sure, would you follow the appraiser around to make sure that it appraised? And what would you do to make sure that the appraisal came in? 

[00:29:50] Marissa Solis: I think the number one thing be very respect follows the appraiser because they are the experts and they get their expert opinion.

[00:30:00] Marissa Solis: Instead of throwing information to them, I will just like be there early because most of the appraisals are earlier than the time they say. So I try to be there half an hour before the appointment and just open everything so it’s easy for them. And I will say, you know, I brought some information, will you like me to share that with you?

[00:30:22] Marissa Solis: And most of them, they will say yes, and I will make a copy for them. And then kind of walked them through and I said, I had been at this house and I will describe them because I was previewing all the properties too. When you described to them they have questions and then you create rapport with them and it’s kinda that there is a mutual respect that’s billed because you’ve giving them information that’s helpful to them.

[00:30:48] Marissa Solis: And then in return, they want to bring the value because they know it’s important for the buyer and for the seller. And obviously you have those that they don’t even want to look at you, you know? But then you just, like, you still provide the information, but they don’t want to talk to you. And you have to be okay with that too.

[00:31:07] Patrick Donley: I did a flip, one of my very first ones, and it was in an area that was really rough and gentrifying and the, it was being sold for a price that in this neighborhood had never sold at those levels. And at first the bank was saying, how do you justify this price? And I remember meeting the appraiser and just like really having to give a detail of my cost, like all that went into it.

[00:31:28] Patrick Donley: Did you ever do something like that of like, here’s the cost that what I put into the house? 

[00:31:34] Marissa Solis: Yeah, I will make a list of improvements and depending if it was a lot of money we spent, I will detail it with money. And if it wasn’t a lot, I will just mention them because I found that it was kind of easier because it will put the pricing and not me.

[00:31:52] Marissa Solis: And you know, it’s a pain cost me $7,000, they might put it at 15,000. So I cannot, depending on the flip, I will put prices or not. If I felt we spent a lot of money, yes, I will give them the pricing. Or if they ask you, San Jose will ask you, well, how much do you spend? And I will say, well, this much.

[00:32:12] Marissa Solis: And they were okay with that and they will do their own numbers. And it was very particular. I think real estate is not one size fits all. It’s more like what does this client needs, what this house need, and really be focused on that. 

[00:32:29] Patrick Donley: I heard you say that you tried to control the comps to some degree, or maybe Jonathan told me this.

[00:32:34] Patrick Donley: Talk to me about that strategy where you would buy and try to control the comps. Can you talk about that a bit? 

[00:32:40] Marissa Solis: I mean, when I pull out the comps, we were the comps because we had the most whole closings. So most of the properties were our own properties. And I think when he say control the comps, because we were leading the pricing, so in essence we were controlling the market.

[00:32:58] Marissa Solis: And also, you know, whenever there was a high sale, usually I will get a call from the appraiser and I will, you know, explain. Yeah, that’s, had you seen this house? It was more of a conversation, but at the end of the day, it was the appraiser’s job, but we provide enough data to make the job easier to come to value.

[00:33:23] Patrick Donley: I want to hear a little bit, if you see any similarities of what we’re going through now to 2008, does that concern you at all, or do you have any thoughts on that? 

[00:33:33] Marissa Solis: I never concerned about the market, but I’m very cautious because after the experience of 2008, I went back to see, okay, what worked, what didn’t work?

[00:33:45] Marissa Solis: And one of the things that I noticed is that we were projecting the price to what will it sell for instead of, how about if we set the value, you know, a million dollar and we bring the price down to 900 so we have a cushion of error in case the market change. Right. So what I had seen resume the market kind of went down and then right now it went up, but not in the high price range.

[00:34:16] Marissa Solis: I will say a million. And in LA 1,000,005 or less is still very competitive, which it makes the prices stay strong. 

[00:34:26] Patrick Donley: Has your strategies stayed the same throughout the years in terms of your flips or would you say it’s kind of changed as you’ve progressed and grown and developed? 

[00:34:35] Marissa Solis: It’s always changing. I think as one of the key is changing with what the clients need, what the buyers need.

[00:34:44] Marissa Solis: You know, at one point everything was this color, that color, so I am always like doing changes and see through the open houses how do people react to it. So I think changing the finish and stain on trend is very important. It’s like clothing. You know, people will be attracted more to something that’s up today not from 2000 or 2020, you know, it changes yearly.

[00:35:12] Marissa Solis: So always changing the designs is very important.

[00:35:16] Patrick Donley: As CEO. Is that something that you enjoy and get involved in, is the design aspect of doing the flips? 

[00:35:22] Marissa Solis: I do enjoy that, but I have a team that does that and I just kind of look over and give my opinion, but I let them do what they need to do. But I still preview properties and if I see ideas that I like, I send it to them.

[00:35:37] Marissa Solis: Let’s try this. But most of the time they come out with the design. 

[00:35:41] Patrick Donley: I really want to hear a little bit about. I talked with Jonathan and he said that you can be really intimidating. You know you, you seem like a very kind, very nice lady. But he said one of your superpowers is that you’re actually quite intimidating.

[00:35:57] Patrick Donley: So I wanted to hear about that. Like do you consider yourself that way and how do you use it to your advantage? 

[00:36:03] Marissa Solis: I will say that I’m focused and persistent, and I like to really be in the moment. It’s very hard for someone to distract me, so I’m very intentional. 

[00:36:18] Patrick Donley: I want to ask you real quick, how do you develop that?

[00:36:20] Patrick Donley: How did you develop being present, being in the moment, being intentional? That’s a practice. 

[00:36:26] Marissa Solis: Yeah, I’m just really interested. I love what I do. I love real estate and I love people. And sometimes you’ve gotta be tough to get the job done. You gotta be tough so people don’t lie to you. You gotta be tough. So people feel like, okay, I can’t get away with bologna here.

[00:36:44] Marissa Solis: You know? And I think for me it’s more about having an inte relationship. And if I don’t see something right, I will say it. I said, you know, I see these things. I don’t really keep a lot of things in my mind and I try to do it in a professional way. Or if it’s something different, I can pass. I can do whatever I need to do, you know, to get my point approach.

[00:37:09] Patrick Donley: With all you’ve got going on, how’s your sleep at night? Does it, do you worry about the business or do you just know that things are going to work out one way or the other? 

[00:37:18] Marissa Solis: No, I never worry about, you know, like for my sleep I have a routine that I follow and I like to be peaceful. And I sleep every day like me, sometimes night hours.

[00:37:31] Marissa Solis: And there is moments that, yeah, you feel like, okay, how am I going to do this? But I just kind of said, I can’t do anything right now. I’ll take care of that tomorrow. And you know, I just try to sleep and rest. Otherwise I can be at my highest potential. 

[00:37:48] Patrick Donley: You’ve succeeded at a level in what’s largely a male dominated industry.

[00:37:55] Patrick Donley: How would you say you’ve managed this? We’ve got some women listeners too. How, what would you say to them that how they could replicate what you’ve done or some lessons that you could give to women that are in the real estate field? What would you say to them? 

[00:38:08] Marissa Solis: Just be you in the way I see the world.

[00:38:12] Marissa Solis: People want to help you be successful, and especially men, you know, they want to see you be successful because remember, they were raised by a mother. Most likely the teacher was a female. So they already have a good relationship with a female. So I feel like it’s not being a man or a woman. It’s, you know, are you willing to work hard?

[00:38:36] Marissa Solis: Are you willing to learn? Are you willing to give your best? And if you are willing to play the way you need to play, not really. Oh, okay, I’m going to get that deal because I’m a good looking or I have a good body or something that doesn’t work. You need to work hard, study, execute, be consistent, and people will look at you because of your professionalism, not because of your looks, not because of anything else.

[00:39:08] Patrick Donley: I wanted to kind of go back to some of your early days, and I wanted to hear just some stories of the adversity that you must have experienced just coming to the us. English is not your first language, but yet you still outproduced many of your English speaking counterparts. Talk to me about like this unstoppable nature and how can, like other people, like myself, listeners, develop some of these qualities that, that you have.

[00:39:31] Patrick Donley: I want to first start with the stories of adversity. What was it like early on? Do you have any kind of things that you recollect that come to mind? 

[00:39:39] Marissa Solis: Yeah, I mean, when I divorced my first husband, I was basically pretty young and I didn’t really fight a lot, so I just wanted my boys. I didn’t care about the money as long as I have the boys.

[00:39:54] Marissa Solis: To me, that was everything I want. I even have no money to put gas or nothing. But again, you know, I started selling real estate and back in the day, LA Times was huge on rental, so I like, I need to make money in a week. So I called everybody owners that were leasing properties and I said, if I rent your house, will you pay me a commission?

[00:40:18] Marissa Solis: And I call maybe 20 people. And two and say Yes, and I call open houses with my two boys and we hold the open houses and we rented on the weekend the houses and I made like $8,000 because these were expensive homes. You know, they were like seven, $8,000 rent. 

[00:40:40] Patrick Donley: Was that a strategy of yours, was to go up market and choose a higher market or that’s just how it worked out?

[00:40:45] Marissa Solis: I went for the higher number because I felt like those people don’t want to work as hard, so let me do the work. You know, made their life easy. And that’s, I chose the high price because I felt like those were more likely to pay me a commission. 

[00:41:02] Patrick Donley: What about some stories of adversity? When you got started in the flipping business, did you have any kind of run-ins with contractors that maybe they didn’t take you seriously or you, they tried to rip you off because they maybe assumed you didn’t know what you were doing?

[00:41:15] Patrick Donley: Did you have anything like that happened to you? 

[00:41:18] Marissa Solis: You know, at the beginning, no, because I was every day at the job site on top of things. I think when I started to make more bion and I wasn’t as so hands on every project, that’s when people start stealing and I mean, I just fire them and just let them go because they’re going to steal more and more because somebody that’s rotten is just going to get worse.

[00:41:43] Marissa Solis: So I’ll better take the loss quickly than be bleeding for months and months. So I just like, I don’t really have a high tolerance for people that are liars, so I’m just like, okay, you know, this is not working out. Let’s part ways now, and sometimes I pay the money to leave just so I can have peace of mind on the job and keep moving forward because my peace of mind will bring me a lot more money than the 10,000 or whatever money I pay to a contractor to move.

[00:42:14] Marissa Solis: To leave and not have an issue. 

[00:42:17] Patrick Donley: Yeah. They say you can’t do a good deal with a bad person. Tough to do. 

[00:42:21] Marissa Solis: No, I mean, they’re just going to continue to lie no matter what they say. They already prove you that they not going to do it. 

[00:42:29] Patrick Donley: So we’ve got a lot of beginning real estate investors that are maybe thinking about doing their first flip.

[00:42:36] Patrick Donley: What would you say in your mind are like the pros of doing a flip versus the cons for someone just getting started in real estate and kind of thinking about taking that first step? 

[00:42:46] Marissa Solis: I will start with the cons. Be ready to lose money. And if you are comfortable with that, do it. If you not, then don’t do it because your chances of losing money is Canada 50 50 and the process that you can make a good amount of money and I will say everything starts from the money and find a good lenders on over promise and investor.

[00:43:10] Marissa Solis: Like under promise and overdeliver because there will be issues. And if you under promise, like I work with investors too, and I like, I know we can make 120,000 on a deal, but I don’t say that. I said we’re going to make 90,000. So I always have I under promise and over deliver and that gives me a peace of mind because now I had grown to make mistakes.

[00:43:36] Marissa Solis: I had grown to spend more money on things that I didn’t see. The same thing with the budgets. If it’s a hundred, I always put 20% more. And if you put less profit more than you’re going to be safe. And if that deal is still worth, you’re going to make money no matter what. But it’s already stretching the value under that we have and over promising like, oh, we are going to make this much, you know, it’s just a recipe for a disaster.

[00:44:06] Patrick Donley: Would you recommend to somebody that’s thinking about doing a flip to get their real estate agent’s license? Or is it not necessary? 

[00:44:14] Marissa Solis: It’s not necessary. I think what the person has to be an expert is in valuing the property. Can you really sell it for that much? Because it’s, your price is wrong, everything else is not going to work.

[00:44:30] Marissa Solis: You know, as you say, oh, this house is going to sell for 1,000,002, but you ended up selling it for 1,000,001 and your profit was 75,000, you are done no matter what. So I think being over, not being realistic will lead you to don’t manipulate the numbers. The numbers are the numbers you gotta be. Does it works?

[00:44:51] Marissa Solis: Is the number, what number you feel comfortable to resell and go always for the lower number. 

[00:44:58] Patrick Donley: I want to hear about your kind of coming plans in the next five to 10 years. You’ve renovated over 500 homes. How do you see the next five to 10 years unfolding for you and the company? 

[00:45:09] Marissa Solis: I think we’ll do an additional a thousand flips with maybe the kids leading, not so much myself.

[00:45:17] Marissa Solis: They are in training right now. And also I would like to, I start building apartment buildings and I would like to have a bigger portfolio in LA of apartment buildings. And one of my dreams is also to create financial education for children and young people like teenagers because I a strong believer that when you are able to manage your financial in a healthy way, you’re going to have a healthier life.

[00:45:47] Marissa Solis: And I believe there is a lack of information for kids and teenagers and even grown up people. Everything. I always say we are not in real estate, we are in financing because is the financing has to work. Whether you have investors or you have a car money loan or a line of credit that has to work in order for you to be successful.

[00:46:11] Marissa Solis: And the same thing goes for, you know, for your personal life. We don’t have two different lives. It’s the same life. It’s if you don’t manage your money correctly, no matter how much money you make, you always going to be broke. 

[00:46:24] Patrick Donley: It’s kind of amazing the lack of financial education that we don’t receive growing up in our schools, and I don’t know how to change that, but it sounds like you’ve got some ideas and do you have any books or anything like that you’ve read or that you recommend to people who are trying to get a better handle on their personal finances and understanding it?

[00:46:42] Marissa Solis: There is a wish tab for that book. That I think it’s easy to read to understand more about the finances, but to me the way I had learned through is just being not servant of my own spendings and really not spending more than what I make. I mean, I think finance is just, for me, common sense. You know, if I make a hundred thousand, you know, why am I going to spend one 40 and put it on a credit card that’s going to charge me 30%?

[00:47:11] Marissa Solis: I dunno what the rates are on credit cards are 20% because it’s just going to put you in a bigger hole. So it’s like the best way don’t get in there is you can’t pay it within 30 days. Don’t even buy it. I mean, simple. 

[00:47:25] Patrick Donley: Yeah, it is simple. There’s a good Charles Dickens quote from one of his books that says, income 20 pounds, expenses.

[00:47:33] Patrick Donley: 21 pounds result misery, income, 20 pounds, expenses 19 pounds, result happiness. Basically just keep your expenses below what you’re making and it’s pretty straightforward, but it’s tough. It seems for our culture to do. 

[00:47:47] Marissa Solis: It’s more, yeah, it’s more about the mindset, you know, delay gratification or instant gratification and you know, are you willing to weigh so you are healthier and sleep better.

[00:47:59] Patrick Donley: I wanted to hear if you have any controversial opinions in real estate that maybe some other people don’t a, would a agree with, like conventional wisdom says one thing that you, you have the opposite opinion. Anything like that. 

[00:48:13] Marissa Solis: I believe you may your own market, you may your own result, regardless of what the market is and stay informed, you know, like interest rate things, those are very important.

[00:48:24] Marissa Solis: I see the market 365 days a week. And in regards to the rates, you know, I try to stay on top of what the rates are just to get a general idea of what the buyers are able to afford, and that gives me a better sense where we going. But I stay away from greeting about real estate, you know, project things that I think are negative to my mind because I don’t want to get my mind infected with negativity.

[00:48:55] Marissa Solis: So I try to stay on the positive side and exercising the power within me to make things happen. 

[00:49:03] Patrick Donley: Yeah, it can be easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom reports and really be influenced by that and kind of stall your own progress forward. 

[00:49:12] Marissa Solis: Yeah, people are always buying houses. They’ll continue to buy.

[00:49:16] Marissa Solis: So it’s an industry that will continue to grow and finding ways to make it grow, you know, because if it’s not this way, then, you know, I’m trying multiple things right now, including, I just got a hotel entitle, so I diversify and I think everything is seasonal. Sometimes you will have more this, more that.

[00:49:35] Marissa Solis: And I think, you know, it’s just, I just don’t believe in, I think what I believe in is in adjusting accordingly to what the clients need. Because the clients are the ones that tell you the truth. You know, are, is your houses sustained a long time in the market? Are they selling quickly? What’s going on?

[00:49:54] Marissa Solis: I feel that my news come from me really being in touch with the buyers. 

[00:50:00] Patrick Donley: I wanted to hear a little bit about Jonathan’s segue from doing flips in LA to doing multi-family in the Midwest. Has that influenced you at all his strategy? What do you think of it? I’m, I wanted to hear your thoughts on it.

[00:50:14] Marissa Solis: I’m really proud of him. I think he’s doing a fantastic job and that’s something that’s working for them and I think it’s a good cash flow strategy and Jonathan always wanted to do that and I, I mean, I applaud him for doing that and he’s been very successful together with Jeff, his brother. And I think it’s a magnificent strategy.

[00:50:36] Marissa Solis: I just kind of the LA girl that wants to make things happen here because we just need housing and I want to be a bit standing support for la. 

[00:50:49] Patrick Donley: And then you had mentioned wanting to do some multi-family. Do you have a portfolio now that you manage in terms of rentals or is that something that you plan to build coming on down in the next few years?

[00:51:01] Marissa Solis: I have a portfolio and I want to grow the portfolio and I think it’s pretty, rentals are pretty strong in la. I’m not sure about the appreciation with so many things happening, but at least I know that it can be challenging to get the cash flow said if you have any strategies where you buy it. Right.

[00:51:21] Marissa Solis: Fixed. Right. Otherwise the numbers are not going to work. You have to buy it. Right? 

[00:51:26] Patrick Donley: Right. Yeah. That’s key is to high it. Right? That’s where the money’s made, right? 

[00:51:30] Marissa Solis: Yeah. And get the right loan too. 

[00:51:33] Patrick Donley: Are there any other asset classes that you don’t invest in but you think about a lot? Like do you ever get fall prey to what I call shiny object syndrome?

[00:51:42] Patrick Donley: Whether it’s like I get on Twitter and there’s all kinds of different asset classes that people discuss, whether it’s self storage or industrial or multi-family, all. There’s so many different asset classes. Do you ever think about other asset classes that maybe like pull you away from your main strategy?

[00:51:59] Marissa Solis: No. I just stick to what I know how to do and I’m very focused. I don’t get distracted by things like that. 

[00:52:07] Patrick Donley: That’s a great quality. I love it. Do you have any other investments outside of real estate? No. And why is that? 

[00:52:15] Marissa Solis: Because I’m not knowledgeable. I want to learn more, but I have been, I’m very busy and I just, it will distract me and from my focus right now, that’s why I haven’t done that.

[00:52:29] Patrick Donley: I interviewed a gentleman who came out with a book called The Insider’s Guide to Real Estate, and he talked about just that you’ve got way more advantages with real estate than you do, let’s say, like in a stock market or some other markets that you could invest in. You’ve got a competitive, an advantage knowing your market that you really don’t have in investing in stocks and things 

[00:52:48] Marissa Solis: like that.

[00:52:49] Marissa Solis: Yeah, I just like to invest in what I know because that makes me feel like I can make better decisions. 

[00:52:58] Patrick Donley: Yeah. So I wanted to do a quick fire round here as we wrap up. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk today and telling your story. It’s really amazing what you’ve been able to accomplish and I’ve taken a lot away from this that I’m going to be thinking about, but I wanted to hear about first year.

[00:53:13] Patrick Donley: Worst job. 

[00:53:15] Marissa Solis: My worst job, I mean, I always work for myself. My worst job will be taking sellers that they not emotionally stable. So like if you already see the red flags run, you know, like don’t even entertain them then even if you need the money, because they going to cause so much headache and money in essence.

[00:53:38] Marissa Solis: So I think anyone who is not emotionally stable, I wouldn’t pay them right now because it’s just such a high risk. 

[00:53:47] Patrick Donley: What are some of those red flags that you can tell somebody might be problematic? Somebody you want to run from? 

[00:53:54] Marissa Solis: People who are like, when you get to an appointment, they are drunk people who are just like not coherent in their thinking decisions.

[00:54:04] Marissa Solis: And you can see that maybe, you know, just like you get a sense of the person in that few minutes you are with them. And then I think it’s add to the person. But I will say that will be my emotion taking people who are not well, and I say emotionally because I don’t know what’s going on with them and I’m not a doctor.

[00:54:26] Marissa Solis: But I mean, you can tell when somebody’s having issues. 

[00:54:31] Patrick Donley: I want to hear about any entrepreneurial or real estate heroes that 

[00:54:36] Marissa Solis: you have. My father and my brothers, I really like how they manage business and family and how caring they are and always striving to do a win-win for all. 

[00:54:52] Patrick Donley: Did any of your other siblings come to the US?

[00:54:55] Marissa Solis: One, but they all have businesses in Mexico, couple of them, but I the only one that has done the business in the United States in a way that’s, I mean, they brought some business, but with the structure of Mexico, but me building something from nothing has only been me in the United States. 

[00:55:15] Patrick Donley: That’s amazing. I want to hear what success means to you. 

[00:55:19] Marissa Solis: Opportunity growth, giving back, providing quality of life to everyone around me, my family, and everyone around us. I mean, that’s success and maintaining a good, caring heart and mind, and unity. I mean, it’s just more about a being of a human being in a healthy way.

[00:55:44] Patrick Donley: And it seems to you, from just listening to you, it sounds like the money is just kind of a byproduct, like what you really enjoy is the process of real estate, the relationships and the creativity and building something and creating housing for people. 

[00:55:58] Marissa Solis: Yeah, definitely. I mean, relationships all around and just providing something great.

[00:56:04] Marissa Solis: We need more creatives in this world. We don’t need more negativity, we don’t need more problems. We need solutions. 

[00:56:12] Patrick Donley: That’s awesome. Marissa, this is a great place to stop. I really appreciate your time and hearing your story. For our listeners again are maybe thinking about taking their first step in doing a flip or getting started in real estate investments.

[00:56:27] Patrick Donley: What kind of words of wisdom would you have for them? What kind of take away from our talk here would you like them to walk away with? 

[00:56:33] Marissa Solis: I will say that try to do your first deal with somebody that’s experienced. At least you learn. It’s better to share practice with somebody than to lose money. I will say, if I was beginning, I will start with somebody that’s already done it that heads up resources and you know, even a strive for a long-term relationship with them.

[00:56:54] Marissa Solis: I think it’s a safer way to go and, you know, don’t be afraid, but support yourself with the right people. 

[00:57:02] Patrick Donley: Marissa, thanks so much for talking and again, how can people learn more about you if they wanted to reach out and get in touch with you? 

[00:57:09] Marissa Solis: They can reach out to me through Instagram. My account is marissasolisviz, which is VIZ.

[00:57:16] Marissa Solis: They can text me too. I can give you my number, which is 323-770-4510 and my Twitter account is Marisa Solis  @nelamarissa. 

[00:57:27] Patrick Donley: Oh, you are on Twitter? 

[00:57:28] Marissa Solis: Yes. I’m going to start using it more, but I do have an account. 

[00:57:34] Patrick Donley: Tell me the Twitter account again because I, I tried to find you and I couldn’t. 

[00:57:37] Marissa Solis: Marissa Solis, @nelamarissa.

[00:57:42] Marissa Solis: Marissa, did you find me? 

[00:57:44] Patrick Donley: I’ll definitely find you. 

[00:57:46] Marissa Solis: Okay. 

[00:57:46] Patrick Donley: I’m on Twitter a lot. So, is Jonathan encouraging you to get more active on Twitter? 

[00:57:51] Marissa Solis: Well, yes and encouraged me. I just need to follow, I need to do it. And I’m going to start, I’m starting today. 

[00:58:00] Patrick Donley: Yeah. We didn’t, I don’t think we touched on your talk at Re-convene.

[00:58:04] Patrick Donley: What was that conference like for you? What was like getting up on stage? I did want to hear about that. 

[00:58:09] Marissa Solis: I mean, it was quite amazing because Moses had a way to interview that. It was geared towards that audience there. And I felt that at the end of the conversation is to give hope and encouragement to people.

[00:58:24] Marissa Solis: And I think we did that, which through the market, especially during that time, the market was down. And I just enjoy a lot because the events are amazing, like Five Star Event. And the people were remarkable to everyone who was there and I interact with, they were like world class people. 

[00:58:45] Patrick Donley: Yeah. He does a fantastic job and as an interviewer he put on a great event from what I understand.

[00:58:51] Patrick Donley: I will definitely link in our show notes to your interview and Re-convene in general. But yeah, it seems like an amazing event and I’d love to be able to go sometime maybe next year and be a part of that because it’s like you said, just amazing high quality people. Yeah. Let’s go together. There you go.

[00:59:07] Patrick Donley: I’d love to meet you in person. Have a meal together. Yeah. All right, Marissa, thank you so much again, appreciate your time, love your story and I, I really hope that a lot of people get to hear this. 

[00:59:16] Marissa Solis: Thank you. And I’m, you know, I’m happy to help people. That’s my mission in life. 

[00:59:21] Patrick Donley: That’s awesome.

[00:59:22] Marissa Solis: Thank you. 

[00:59:22] Patrick Donley: Thank you. 

[00:59:23] Marissa Solis: All right. Thank you. Bye. 

[00:59:26] Patrick Donley: Okay folks, that’s all I had for today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed the show, and I’ll see you back here real soon. 

[00:59:32] Outro: Thank you for listening to TIP. Make sure to subscribe to We Study Billionaires by The Investor’s Podcast Network. Every Wednesday, we teach you about Bitcoin, and every Saturday we study billionaires and the financial markets.

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