11 Expert Real Estate Investing Tips from Marsay Winder

Welcome to RentRedi’s new series: Investor Spotlight!

We’re highlighting experts & their real estate investing tips for beginners—from the experts.

Our Investor Spotlight features quickfire questions about the tools, advice, routines, and strategies real estate beginners & professionals use to grow their businesses and gain passive income.

Investor Spotlight: Marsay Winder

Marsay (aka The Property Pastor) bought his first rental in 2017 and currently owns 12 properties. Additionally, his portfolio consists mostly of small multifamily with a few single-family homes mixed in & he specializes in creative financing strategies.   

Let’s dive in!

Quickfire Real Estate Investing Tips for Beginners

1. What’s your favorite app (real estate related or not)?

I use Evernote a lot to take notes and store important files.  

2. How many hours a night do you sleep?

I usually sleep about 6 hours every night. My day starts around 4:50 am and starts with my morning run before work. I stay pretty busy with my W2 job, family activities, church, and real estate business.  

3. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received (real estate related or not)?

• Everything is learnable. If something intimidates you, do it even if you’re afraid. Things are hard before they become easy.
• Find people who know how to do what you struggle at. Don’t try to do everything yourself, build a team.  
• Remember your why. Family, faith, and impact are way more important than making money.  

4. Do you invest out-of-state?

I purchased my first property out of state this year.  It was in NC (I live in VA).  To this day I still haven’t seen it in person. I have a property manager for this one.  

5. Have you ever house hacked?

No. My wife would kill me.

6. Do you have a go-to paint color for your rentals?

I like neutral colors but have shifted to a more modern blueish grey color that matches the vinyl plank flooring I use.  

7. How long does it take you to analyze a property for investment?

I can analyze a property in about 5 minutes. I use a spreadsheet that I can run the numbers pretty quick on.

8. How old were you when you purchased your first rental property?

I was 37 when I purchased my first deal. Wish I had bought my first rental at 27!

9. Hard money loan or conventional?

It really depends on the deal. If I’m doing a BRRRR deal or a deal with great equity, I may use hard money; if I need to close quickly, hard money is the way to go; if I am not pressed for time, I go for conventional.

I also do as many deals as I can with private money. That’s a game-changer!

10. What is the #1 piece of advice you would give a new real estate investor just starting out?

Play the long game. Set your goals, plan your work, and work your plan. REI is a marathon and favors the person who is disciplined and relentless in their pursuit.  

11. What’s a landlord “hack” you use to make your life easier?

I try to depend on technology as much as possible. Quick change locks, electronic payments, and apps streamline the process and cut down on waste.  

Marsay Winder Bio

Marsay Winder aka “the Property Pastor” is a father, husband, pastor, real estate entrepreneur, and engineer.  He purchased his first rental in 2017 and has been growing his portfolio ever since.  He currently owns 12 properties, with 2 more under contract throughout Hampton Roads, VA and one in NC.  His portfolio consists mostly of small multifamily with a few single-family homes mixed in.  

Marsay specializes in creative financing strategies such as owner financing and lease options.  Over the course of his career, he has done BRRRR deals and is currently undergoing two flips.  He is a father of 3 children: Charis (13), Kaitlin (11), and Jayden (8) and has been married to his wife Isha for 17 years.  His hobbies include spending time with family, coaching his kids in sports, running, and working outside.  

Follow Marsay on Social!

• Youtube 
• Facebook: ThePropertyPastor
• Instagram: ThePropertyPastor

More Resources

Check out Marsay’s videos on RentRedi’s YouTube channel as well!

Read more Investor Spotlight profiles that feature real estate investing tips for beginners.