For many real estate investors, the hardest real estate deal to complete is often the first one. Not only do newer investors lack the knowledge and experience, but they also experience a ton of fear and uncertainty as they navigate this business. Well, on today’s episode, we have one of our amazing InvestHER Meetup Leaders, Stephanie Banno, with us discussing how she finished and sold her first real estate deal while working full time and long distance! During today’s interview, we discuss how she found her first deal, how she leveraged relationships, how to find and talk to distressed sellers, how to utilize virtual assistants, and how to manage expectations as you get started! Stephanie Banno is a partner of Yellow Dog Property LLC in Austin, Texas. She began her real estate investing career last June by attending a real estate conference. After attending the event in June, she started networking with as many people as she possibly could via social media. She began making offers on single family homes in San Antonio working with a great agent in the area. She was able to successfully acquire a preforeclosure 2 bed/2 bath house in San Antonio with a JV partner that only required cosmetic repairs. It took about a month to get it ready to put on the market and they had 6 offers in 72 hours. They successfully closed on their first deal and are in full steam ahead to find new deals! Stephanie also leads the Austin chapter of the InvestHER Meetups (there are 22 chapters in the USA and growing!) On today’s episode, we discuss a lot with Stephanie, including:  ·       Working full time and investing in your first deal long distance ·       How she found her first deal ·       How she leveraged relationships ·       Managing expectations when you get started ·       How to find and talk to distressed sellers ·       How to find VA’s to have higher level discussions with distressed sellers   Contact Information  ·       Reach out to Stephanie - yellowdogpropertyllc@gmail.com ·       Yellow Dog Property ·       The Real Estate InvestHER Austin Meetup   Books/Resources: ·       The Four Agreements Looking for Funding? Ladies, you need to check out Fund That Flip! We are excited to tell you about Fund That Flip, a company we are very proud to call our sponsor. Fund That Flip is the leading provider of fast, convenient, affordable capital for experienced real estate investors who buy and rehabilitate residential properties. To date, they have helped hundreds of real estate investors grow their businesses by funding thousands of deals. You deal directly with them, getting your deal funded in as few as 10 days.  85% of their customers come back to do more business with them because of their dedication to exceptional service. It’s why they were named No. 42 of Inc.’s fastest-growing companies in America.  What do they fund? •            Fix-and-flip •            New construction •            Buy and Hold Properties •            Cash-out refinance projects from 1-4 units Real Estate InvestHERs, Get $500 towards your next closing! Check them out by visiting – www.fundthatflip.com/investher  InvestHER Community Our mission is to support and inspire women real estate investors around the globe to live a financially free and balanced life. We are dedicated to creating empowering online and in person communities where women have a non-intimidating environment to ask questions and receive the support they need. Our vision is to see all woman investors achieve her financial freedom goals on her own terms.   How To Join the InvestHER Movement   1)  The Real Estate InvestHER Podcast - The weekly show details the journey of some of the most amazing women real estate investors around the world, who open up their lives and share practical and strategic tools for growing a rental portfolio, flipping houses and the mindset that allows them to run a successful investing business while taking care of their families and most importantly taking care of the