Today’s guest, Alicia Marks, started real estate investing unintentionally in 2011 when she became an accidental landlord. It wasn’t until eight years later, in late 2019, that she decided to intentionally invest in hopes of reaching her financial goals faster. Since then she has closed on five doors, has done one live in flip, and has six more under contract.Besides being a part-time investor, Alicia is also the BiggerPockets Community Manager. This direct connection to the BiggerPockets community has allowed Alicia to get more exposure to the world of real estate investing while also knowing first-hand how useful all the BiggerPockets tools can be. Alicia even found her partner through BiggerPockets! They started with only one deal to test the waters and had a very clear exit strategy in case it didn’t work out. Thankfully they discovered the partnership worked well for both of them, but if it hadn’t, Alicia would have been perfectly fine because of the exit strategy she put in place.After some major life changes, Alicia thought she’d pursue a dental career until she realized the people in the dental field were trying to get out and pursue real estate. It was then that she decided instead of accruing massive debt in hopes of reaching financial freedom, she’d return to real estate after an eight-year hiatus and begin her financial freedom journey right away!In This Episode We CoverThe importance of finding a solution-based property manager and how to maintain long-distance communication with themHow to find, manage, and build a lasting, beneficial relationship with contractorsExit strategies and why it’s important to have them in placeHow to plan your exit strategies and how to know when it’s time to implement themThe importance of structuring your partnership in a way that aligns with the strengths of you and your partnerHow to use private lender meetups to your full advantage and finding the perfect private money lender for youAnd So Much More!Links from the ShowAshley's InstagramTony's InstagramBiggerPocketsReal Estate Rookie Youtube ChannelReal Estate Rookie PodcastReal Estate Rookie Facebook GroupReal Estate Rookie BootcampBiggerPockets ForumsOn The Market PodcastJames Deinard's InstagramDave Meyers' InstagramOn The Market YouTube ChannelIs College Worth the Cost? This 30,000 Variable Study Says “Sometimes…”How to Retire Early With Real Estate & Do What Matters More with Chad CarsonOuch! Brandon & David’s 10 Biggest Investing Mistakes (& How to Avoid Them)AsanaConnect with Alicia:Alicia's BiggerPockets ProfileAlicia's InstagramCheck out the full show notes here: https://biggerpocket.com/blog/rookie-185See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.