Think Big, Execute Bigger: Hannah David’s System for Scaling Rental Portfolios Fast
Show summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Q Edmonds interviews Hannah David, a successful real estate investor who transitioned from engineering to real estate. Hannah shares her journey, focusing on affordable housing and co-living strategies. She discusses the importance of personal and business strategies, the challenges she faced in the current economy, and her future goals in scaling her real estate portfolio. The conversation emphasizes the significance of relationships, execution, and a growth mindset in achieving success.
Key takeaways
- Hannah grew her portfolio from 6 doors to 37+ doors, over 500% growth, over the course of about 20 years, with most of the acceleration happening after she pursued formal real estate education.
- She focuses on affordable housing and Section 8 rentals in low-income zip codes across the three states where median income is very low, and operates in five states total.
- She uses PadSplit, a shared-housing/co-living platform with more than 75,000 units nationwide, as a featured host; she describes it as similar to Airbnb but for low-income room rentals and says it's easy to replicate and has helped friends avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy.
- When a tenant family of 7 fell 7 months behind on rent due to job losses, she tried 10 to 12 local assistance agencies before arranging a payment plan rather than evicting immediately, balancing compassion with running the property as a business.
- Multiple apartment complex owners (8 to 10, per Hannah) told her that failing to do evictions promptly was what ultimately brought down their properties, including complexes worth up to 14 million dollars and ranging from 40 to 500+ units.
- Her next scaling targets are 15 to 40 unit multifamily properties, then eventually apartment complexes of 100 to 200 units; she has joined multiple masterminds to keep learning and network with more experienced investors.
- Her core formula for success: think big with faith, and execute bigger; she emphasizes that relationships with loan officers, banks, and fellow investors, plus learning from others' mistakes, are critical to avoiding costly errors.
In this episode
- 00:00Cold open: execution knocks the doors down
- 02:15Introduction to Hannah David
- 03:16From engineer to real estate investor: Hannah's origin story
- 06:08Business and personal strategies
- 07:57Discovering PadSplit and co-living / shared housing
- 08:52Facing adversity: tenant hardship and evictions
- 12:46Next goals: scaling into larger multifamily and apartment complexes
- 15:41The value of relationships and learning from others' mistakes
- 17:47Closing message: think big, execute bigger
About the guest
Hannah David started her career as an engineer and rose to become a management consultant before investing in real estate part-time for about 20 years, reaching 6 doors with a focus on affordable housing and Section 8. After her son joined the Air Force, she committed fully to real estate, pursued formal education, and scaled to 37+ doors (over 500% growth) using co-living/shared housing through PadSplit, where she is a featured host. She operates in five states, with a focus on low-income, affordable housing niches.
Listen to the audio
“Knowledge can open the doors. Relationships can open the doors. But it's always execution that knocks the doors down.”
Hannah David
“You have to think big and you have to execute bigger.”
Hannah David
“Eight to 10 apartment complex owners have told me the one thing that brought them down was not doing evictions promptly, swiftly on time.”
Hannah David
“So for 14 million, the million dollar apartment complex can go under just because evictions were not done on time.”
Hannah David
Questions answered in this episode
How did Hannah David grow her rental portfolio from 6 to 37+ doors?
She started with 6 doors built slowly over 20 years focused on affordable housing/Section 8. After her son joined the Air Force, she decided to invest more seriously, got formal real estate education, and used creative input and exit strategies to scale over 500% to 37+ doors.
What is co-living or shared housing and how does it work with PadSplit?
Co-living/shared housing is a strategy Hannah discovered through PadSplit, a company with more than 75,000 units nationwide, similar to Airbnb but for low-income, room-by-room rentals. Hannah is a featured host on PadSplit and says the strategy has helped her and friends avoid foreclosure and bankruptcy because it's easy to replicate when done right.
How should investors handle tenants who fall behind on rent?
Hannah described working with a family of 7 who couldn't pay rent for 7 months after job losses, trying 10-12 local agencies for help, and setting up a payment arrangement rather than evicting immediately. But she stresses that at some point you have to run it as a business and begin eviction proceedings if payment doesn't resume, since delayed evictions have taken down apartment owners with complexes of 40 to 500+ units.
Why do large apartment complex owners fail, according to the investors Hannah has talked to?
Hannah said 8 to 10 apartment complex owners told her the thing that brought them down was not doing evictions promptly and on time. When that happens across many units at once (a group eviction), owners lose a large block of paying tenants simultaneously and can't make payments, even on properties worth up to 14 million dollars.
What are Hannah David's next scaling goals?
She wants to move into larger multifamily properties, starting with 15 and 40 unit buildings, and eventually acquiring apartment complexes of 100 to 200 units. She says she's joined several masterminds to keep learning and 'grow on the shoulders of giants.'
Resources and links
- Hannah David’s Email Address: createrealestateinvestors85@gmail.com
- Hannah David’s Phone Number: (508) 846-5192
Full transcript
Hannah David (00:00)
I’m a project manager. So it doesn’t matter what strategy you have, what goals you have, what knowledge you have. Execution. Knowledge can open the doors. Relationships can open the doors. But it’s always execution that knocks the doors down. And
second thing is you have to think big. I see a lot of my friends
who are so…
they’re very intelligent, very smart, they have access to so much capital but they don’t think big and you have to think big and you have to execute bigger.
Quentin (02:15)
Hello, everyone. Hello, hello. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I am your host, Q Edmonds. Excited to be here, excited about my guest. She is a problem solver. ⁓ And that’s what I absolutely love about her. I love that the
that she wants to better position her friends and her family. She’s definitely a person that serves people, that wants people around her to grow just like she’s growing. And so I am.
Excited to introduce you guys to Miss Hannah David. Miss Hannah, how you doing today,
Hannah David (02:50)
I’m doing very well.
Quentin (02:53)
Great, great. Listen, I’m so glad to have you here. And listen, I just want to dive in. I want you
to tell the people what your main focus is these days. If you want to give us a little origin story of how you got into real estate, I’m sure we would love to hear that. And then also, if you don’t mind telling us what part of the world you’re in, what markets you’re operating in. And so, Ms. Hannah, you have the floor,
Hannah David (03:16)
Thank you. I started my career as an engineer. I rose through the ranks and I became a management consultant. I was investing in real estate at Snail Space. Over a period of 20 years, I had six doors and affordable housing section eight was my niche. I just loved affordable housing.
A few years ago my son joined the Air Force. When I dropped him and came, I was heartbroken because I didn’t know if and when I’ll be seeing my son.
So that day I decided that I will leave a legacy for both my children and I decided to invest in real estate. So that is how I started investing. I had to go get formal education because before that I was just like doing it to the best of my knowledge. So I joined a world-class education program.
I got educated, I used several creative input and exit strategies and I was able to be successful. I scaled from six doors to 37 plus doors. So I grew more than 500%.
Quentin (04:51)
Yeah.
Yeah. I love it. And so you said, you you use some of the strategies. I want to talk about some strategies if you don’t mind. Like, I would love to know some of the business strategies that you use. I would also love to know some of the personal
that you use. Because I know, you know, we all, some of us have meditation. Some of us go to the gym, go for walks. So what are some of the personal strategies and business strategies that you’ve used throughout your years?
Hannah David (06:08)
Thank you. You asked me a question earlier. What, which states I operate in? I operate in five states. So low income housing is my niche. So I operate out of three states where the income, the medium income is very, very low. So that is one of my strategies, renting houses in
very very ⁓ in like struggling neighborhoods very low income zip codes so that’s a strategy that I use I tried a few other strategies like short-term rentals mid-term rentals I still do mid-term rentals but then I was able to discover this amazing strategy called
co-living or shared housing. So I partnered with a company that has more than 75,000 units around the country, similar to Airbnb, but this is low income housing. I work with PathSplit. I am a featured host on PathSplit.
and I learned this new strategy and I’ve helped so many friends and friends of friends avoid foreclosure, bankruptcy using this strategy. It’s a proven strategy that if it is done right, it works so well. So easy to replicate.
Quentin (07:57)
Love it. So pad split. I’m understanding that right. Pad split. And yet the co-living space is really growing. It is really just a phenomenal space to be into something that’s very, very scalable. And so you’re right. You know, I’m talking to more and more people that is in the co-living space. And so you’re absolutely right. That is definitely growing. You know, I have to ask you, have, as you’ve been building,
Hannah David (08:02)
Yes.
Quentin (08:27)
building your success. love how you grew from six doors to 37 doors. Now you’re partnering with pad split. Have you experienced any adversity as you’ve been building your portfolio and you’ve been building your skillset? Have you faced any adversity as you built? Cause you know, things don’t always go the way we want them to go. Like sometimes we got a vivid fast. And so as there has, have there been adversities as you’ve been building?
Hannah David (08:52)
Yes, the job market is definitely affecting my renters. ⁓ I have an amazing teacher in Michigan as my renter. They couldn’t pay the rent for seven months because the husband and the wife, they were getting laid off all the time. We tried to work with 10 to 12 local agencies. None of them were able to help them.
Quentin (09:05)
Yes.
Yeah.
Hannah David (09:21)
because all their funds were dried up. So the economy is bad. The homeowners are getting negatively impacted. But this is a family of five children and two adults, five or six children and two adults. So I did not have the heart to just throw them on the street. I had two to three judgments against them. Overnight I could have thrown them. But then I come from a poor family and I’ve struggled and suffered in life.
So now I’m working with them. We have made an arrangement and they are making payments. So I am bending backwards to work with them
and they are bending backwards. So definitely yes. And I have another single mother in another unit. She couldn’t pay for two months. And just before your podcast, I was just working with another friend to pick up some forms.
a court office so that I could start some evictions. definitely the economy and the job loss. But then you have the end of the day, you have to run this as a business. if several renters, that’s why so many homeowners are going under in this economy from apartment complexes, 500 units, 40 units, 140 units.
Quentin (11:13)
Hmm.
Mm.
Hannah David (11:21)
So many owners who went under when I was able to ask them why. It’s because they say we did not evict on time. Then they did a group eviction. So then there was a group large, several units were vacant. They couldn’t make the payment and they went under. So that is the story that you’re hearing. So sometimes as an owner, there’s only this much you can do because at end of the day, this is a business and you have bills to pay.
Quentin (11:51)
Absolutely. And I thank you for telling and sharing that because I definitely can hear your heart. I definitely can hear that you don’t want nobody to necessarily hurt. You don’t want to see nobody out. But like you said, it is a business. I love the fact that you have extended grace, that you’ve tried to work people, you’ve tried to be flexible. But yeah, there is definitely a time when you have to build a boundary, but you have to say, you know, I understand it’s hard, but this is a business. have to do what I
Hannah David (11:52)
I’m to ahead turn it off.
Quentin (12:21)
do. But I thank you because you let us get a little peek into your heart. And so I appreciate you sharing that story and just appreciate you just being in a position where you want to help people.
Hannah David (12:32)
Thank you.
Quentin (12:33)
Yes, ma’am. Absolutely. So, you know, I know you got, you know, you’re partnering up with Pad Split. Ms. Hannah, like, what is the next real goal for you? What are you looking to solve or scale next? Like, what’s the next target goal for you?
Hannah David (12:46)
My next target goal is to move into larger multifamilies. 15 units, 40 units. Then eventually I would like to get apartment complexes that have 100 to 200 units. So scaling and everyone can scale. So you need a different mindset. So I have joined several masterminds and you have to always
⁓ grow on the shoulders of giants. So that’s why I’ve joined masterminds and so you have to continuously learn. ⁓ Warren Buffett is retiring and when somebody asked him what is the one thing you’re going to learn and improve he said to become a better investor. So Warren Buffett can benefit from continuous learning. I just learned that today.
Quentin (13:20)
Yeah.
What?
Yikes, wow.
Hannah David (13:44)
I read that and
I was laughing. was like, Warren Buffett, you’ve got to be kidding me. So if Warren Buffett could learn and become a better investor, the whole planet can. No exceptions.
Quentin (13:47)
Yeah.
I’m great!
so well stated. mean, to the person that think they have stopped growing to the person that think you’ve been done everything. You just heard Ms. Hannah say, even Mr. Warren Buffett is saying, Hey, I want to be a better investor. I mean, that is pretty amazing. That’s the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. You know, fixed mindset say, you know, I’m good where I am. I have plateaued. I’ve learned everything. The growth mindset is like, no, there is still.
more to be learned. so thank you for that nugget. I did not know that. did not know that. Absolutely. ⁓ So listen, I would love to ask you, it seems like to me, you value people. You want to help people. You talked about helping your friends. You talked about building a legacy for your kids. And so I want to talk about relationships. Specifically, business relationships have building good business relationships.
Hannah David (14:30)
Yes.
Quentin (14:57)
impacted you in a positive way.
Hannah David (15:41)
Yes, definitely. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. So the first thing is you can’t have a fixed mindset. have to learn. Learning helped me grow more than 500%. The next step is the relationships, the loan officers, the banks, fellow investors, investors. The best lesson, the cheapest lesson is learning from the mistakes of others.
Quentin (15:47)
Mmm.
Hannah David (16:11)
So eight to 10 apartment complex owners have told me the one thing that brought them down was not doing evictions promptly, swiftly on time. so I’ve just like having my mindset, like even today I’m going to go to church and lead a prayer group. So being a church leader, you want to also practice what you’re learning, but this is a business.
Quentin (16:12)
Mm-hmm.
Beautiful. Beautiful.
Yeah.
Hannah David (16:41)
you will go down and under if you just don’t follow the rules. So you have to learn from the mistakes of So for 14 million you the million dollar apartment complex can go under just because of evictions were not done on time. That’s it. Even if you’re a mom and pop shop that rule applies for you as well.
Quentin (16:46)
Mmm.
Mm, mm, abs.
So good. mean, such good, good, good nuggets that you’re giving. Definitely about relationship building, but definitely, you know, making sure you’re doing your due diligence. You’re being disciplined. Like you’re sticking to the systems that you’ve put in place. And like you said, you know, of course there’s grace, but then there’s also the disciplines that keep you in place. And I love it. I love everything I’m hearing from you.
Hannah David (17:16)
this.
Thank you.
Quentin (17:31)
Listen, Miss
Hannah, is there anything that we have not said that you would want to say that maybe can educate people, motivate people, inspire people? Is there anything that you feel like anything else you want to say to the audience that you think would be beneficial for them?
Hannah David (17:47)
Yes,
I’m a project manager. So it doesn’t matter what strategy you have, what goals you have, what knowledge you have. Execution. Knowledge can open the doors. Relationships can open the doors. But it’s always execution that knocks the doors down. And the second thing is you have to think big. I see a lot of my friends
who are so… ⁓ they’re very
very smart, they have access to so much capital but they don’t think big and you have to think big and you have to execute bigger.
So that’s been the formula for my life and it served me well. A. Think big with faith and two. Execute bigger.
Quentin (18:45)
I heard that word faith. I heard that word faith, correct? I love it. You know, they
faith without works is dead. And so you just hit the nail on the head. Faith and execution. You got to have faith, but you also have to execute. You also have to work. And so I love it. I think you have an incredible message. I love the way you have grown into your success. Of course, like I said, I love the way your mindset to help people.
Hannah David (18:53)
Yes.
Yes.
Quentin (19:13)
I mean, I think at any sustainable business is servitude. When you look to serve people, I think your business is definitely going to be sustained. And it’s no doubt in my mind why you continue to grow. Now you’re talking about moving to different asset classes. You’re talking about, listen, large multi-family is next. I’m going to scale. I love everything that I’m hearing from you, Ms. Hannah.
Hannah David (19:18)
Yes.
Thank you so much. truly appreciate your time, Quentin. Thank you so much. was a joy.
Quentin (19:35)
Absolutely. Yes, ma’am. Well, listen, if someone
wanted to… Yeah, oh, yo, definitely enjoyed talking to you. If someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, collaborate with you, learn your ways, how can they get in contact with you, Ms. Hannah?
Hannah David (19:53)
Yes, my cell phone number is 508-846-5192 and they can reach me at
createrealestateinvestors85@gmail.com. So it’s createrealestateinvestors85@gmail.com.
Quentin (20:17)
Yeah.
love it. And love it. I love it. I love it. Listen, again, I want to take time to thank you. Thank you for your story. Thank you for your time. Definitely thank you for your perspective. We need more people like you in this space and I value who you are and the way you are doing things in this space. so, Ms. Hannah, I greatly appreciate you, man.
Hannah David (20:48)
Thank you so much. I truly appreciate your help. Thank you.
Quentin (20:51)
Yes.
But listen, y’all heard Ms. Hannah, y’all got the value. You can’t tell me this was not a great episode, that she didn’t really
you with some mindset shifting things. And so please make sure you are subscribed. We are going to continue to bring up amazing people, just like Ms. Hannah. And so Ms. Hannah, I thank you again. And to everyone else, we will see you on the next time.
