[Case Study] $82K as a mother w/ full time W-2

 

Starting a real estate investing business is one thing, but doing it while working full-time and raising a family is another type of challenge all together!

The Challenge

Pam Tapia wasn't working with a lot of free time when she started her career in real estate. As a mom of two with a full-time job, she had to fit real estate investing into an already packed schedule.

She had no prior deals under her belt, no track record to point to, and no luxury of quitting her day job to pursue investing full time. If she was going to make this work, it had to happen around the edges of an already busy life.

The Plan

Before Pam contacted a single seller, she laid the groundwork by:

• Building a professional website and brand presence
• Implementing systems learned through the CCF mastermind
• Launching a targeted direct mail campaign
• Committing to working every lead quickly and consistently

The goal was simple: when a potential seller looked her up, everything needed to look credible, polished, and trustworthy.

 

The Execution

With that foundation in place, she launched her first direct mail campaign in October 2022! She sent 3,500 pastel greeting letters to a targeted list of absentee owners with equity in their properties. The total cost of the mailing came out to roughly $5,300.

 

One of those 3,500 letters landed in the mailbox of a flight attendant who owned a rental property. He wasn't in foreclosure. He wasn't desperate. He simply didn't want to deal with the hassle of prepping the home and scheduling showings to sell it the traditional way. So he held on to Pam's letter - for nearly three months!

 

The Deal

In December 2022, he finally picked up the phone and called her. Among all the investor letters he had received, he chose Pam!

In his own words, he felt she was fair, transparent, and easy to work with. That perception didn't come from a single clever line in the letter. It came from the full picture of her brand, website, and the way she carried herself throughout the conversations working together.

Within just seven days of that first call, Pam had the property under contract. She moved forward with a flip, investing about $22,000 in rehab on a property with an after-repair value of $325,000. By April 2023, roughly four months later, the home was sold!

Pam also turned the deal into a second marketing opportunity. Right after closing on the property, she designed a postcard featuring the purchase and mailed it to a new list - a smart move to build credibility and generate fresh leads from a real, completed transaction.

 

The Results

• Exit Strategy: Flip
• After-Repair Value: $325,000
• Rehab Cost: $22,000
• Net Profit: $82,000
• Marketing Cost: ~$5,300
• Marketing ROI: 1,490%

Pam's first deal proves a straightforward point: a demanding schedule is not a disqualifier. With a professional brand, a targeted mailing list, and the patience to let leads develop on their own timeline, one well-placed letter can turn into a six-figure opportunity.