Overview of The Real Estate Rookie Podcast with Megan
In this episode, Megan shares how she went from being a college student-athlete learning the basics of money and investing to owning five rental units total: a house-hacked townhouse near SMU in Dallas and a century-old fourplex she bought right after graduation. The conversation follows her path from early exposure to real estate, to reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, to using a combination of private money, inherited “red envelope” savings, cash-out refinancing, and a DSCR loan to keep scaling. She also opens up about the messy reality of owning an older building—frozen sidewalks, raccoons, and an $80,000 plumbing failure—and how she stays in the game anyway.
How Megan Got Started
Childhood exposure to real estate
- Megan’s dad bought his first investment property when she was around 10.
- She spent weekends helping with:
- demolition
- painting
- gardening
- general cleanup
- At the time, it felt like punishment; now she sees it as the foundation for her investing skills.
The $10 book-report challenge
- During COVID, her dad offered her $10 per book and written report.
- The first book was Rich Dad Poor Dad, which changed how she defined wealth.
- Key lesson she took from it:
- An asset puts money in your pocket.
- A liability takes money out.
- That reframed real estate for her as a way to build a machine that works even when she’s not working.
Another mindset shift
- Her second assigned book was _The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*_** by Mark Manson.
- It helped her stop worrying so much about other people’s opinions.
- This mattered because she was entering a space where she often felt judged as:
- young
- female
- inexperienced
Her First Deal: House Hacking Near SMU
Buying the townhouse
- While attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Megan bought a townhouse near campus.
- Purchase price: just over $500,000
- She was around 20 years old at the time.
How she funded it
- She used:
- private money from her inner circle
- saved/invested red envelope money from childhood gifts
- She did not use traditional bank financing for the full purchase.
- The loan on the remainder was at 4%.
Why it worked
- She house hacked the townhouse with a friend.
- The deal forced her to learn:
- utilities
- bills
- repairs
- ownership responsibility
- It became her crash course in being both:
- a homeowner
- a landlord
Key takeaway
- She used the first property not just for cash flow, but to build equity and prepare for the next deal.
The Leap to a Fourplex at Graduation
Why she bought it
- In 2024, during graduation week, Megan closed on a century-old fourplex in Dallas.
- She targeted Lower Greenville because she saw the area improving:
- more restaurants
- more stores
- better neighborhood demand
- Her thesis was that appreciation mattered more than immediate cash flow.
How she financed it
- Purchase price: around $900,000
- Down payment: 45%
- She funded the down payment by:
- doing a cash-out refinance on the townhouse, which had appreciated by about $100,000
- She financed the rest with a DSCR loan at 6.25%
- She intentionally brought more equity to the table to show “skin in the game.”
Additional strategy
- She moved into one of the units and house hacked again.
- Her approach to the building was a rolling renovation:
- fix one unit
- move into it
- renovate the next
- repeat
Important structural detail
- The building was marketed as a fourplex, but it had originally been a sixplex/dormitory-style property.
- She saw signs that two units had been “buried” over time:
- old framing
- hidden door openings
- walls built where rooms once existed
The Reality of Owning an Old Building
She did much of the work herself
- Contractors often:
- ghosted her
- assumed she was the tenant or assistant
- talked to her dad or boyfriend instead of her
- That pushed her to do more of the labor herself.
Major 2026 problems in the fourplex
Her building seemed to fight back in 2026 with four major issues:
1. A hard freeze
- Dallas had a major freeze that turned her front lawn into an ice rink.
- Because of the property’s position, the sun never hit the lawn.
- She had to chip ice manually so tenants could safely walk.
2. Raccoon break-in
- Raccoons entered through the wall.
- They spilled paint and left white paw prints throughout the stairwell.
- Pest control had to use cameras and pheromone-based methods to get them out.
3. Collapsed cast-iron plumbing
- The century-old cast-iron plumbing failed badly.
- The fix required:
- trenching the backyard gravel
- digging under the building
- replacing lines with PVC
- Cost: about $80,000
- Some cast iron remained in the walls because replacing all of it would have required opening major sections of the building.
4. Ongoing rehab complications
- The property was already in a constant state of renovation, so every surprise issue created more stress and delay.
Mindset: Why She Didn’t Quit
Her response to setbacks
- Her first reaction is still frustration:
- “Are you kidding me?”
- wanting to quit momentarily
- But she gives herself a short window to vent, then gets back to work.
The lesson she’s internalized
- She sees setbacks as tuition for future success.
- She’s learned that:
- chaos is part of the business
- she can’t control every problem
- she can control her response
Emotional discipline matters
- She emphasized not letting stress spiral.
- The episode reinforces that reserves are meant to be used for:
- repairs
- improvements
- keeping the asset healthy
How She Finds Deals Now
What she looks for in a neighborhood
Megan says the real decision happens after the numbers—in a 30-minute drive around the area.
She looks for:
- well-maintained landscaping
- how people are using the streets and yards
- proximity to:
- grocery stores
- gas stations
- hospitals
- other tenant-demand drivers
Her core principle
- The numbers follow the neighborhood, not the other way around.
- She wants to know who the tenant will be before she submits an offer.
What’s Next for Megan
Her definition of freedom
- Freedom means being able to:
- book flights to see family and friends
- attend important events without asking for PTO approval
- Real estate has helped her prioritize people over a desk job.
Her current strategy
- She has put in four offers, all declined.
- She’s still actively looking and has started exploring:
- co-living
- more workforce housing
- Her buy box has shifted because the fourplex repairs changed what she needs:
- more cash flow
- better resilience
- lower risk of being overleveraged
Big-picture lesson
- Megan is willing to pivot her strategy as her experience grows.
- She’s not clinging to one formula; she’s adapting to the market and her goals.
Key Takeaways
- Early exposure matters: her dad’s jobsite involvement and book challenge shaped her trajectory.
- House hacking is a powerful starting point for young investors.
- Equity can compound fast when a property appreciates and is refinanced strategically.
- Old buildings require reserves and patience—especially with plumbing, weather, and pest issues.
- Mindset is a skill: emotional regulation is part of being a successful investor.
- Neighborhood quality and tenant demand matter as much as spreadsheet analysis.
- Freedom, not just money, is the real end goal for Megan.
Notable Quote
“Failure isn’t failure. It’s tuition for future success.”
Megan’s Contact
- Instagram: @megan.chow.invest