https://info.yourwayhomeinfo.com/

Karen Parnes at Your Way Home Partners, 891 Rockville Pike, Suite I-138, Rockville, MD (2026)

10/25/2025

Agents….One property could mean two deals…
Unless you lose the investor first

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this play out:
An investor reaches out to an agent,
Hoping to get help.
The agent rushes to the MLS,
Pulls a few listings and sends them over.
Sometimes they even write a few offers together.
They all fail.

But when a real deal actually appears,
Maybe a distressed property or a seller open to terms
The agent doesn’t even think about the investor.
Because they never learned to think like one,
Even when the right deal comes their way.

When I mention these terms to students
They look at me like a deer in headlights.
They don’t understand why.
So investors walk away from them. Quietly.
They find the agents who do.

When you could have had:
One investor property
They buy with you now. They sell with you after the flip.
And they come back when they’re ready for more.
But only if you understand their world.

You don’t need to be an expert overnight.
Start small:
Learn how to partner with an investor this week
Ask one investor-focused question on your next call.

Investors don’t want another pitch.
They want a partner.

Agents, to start working with investors
and even doing your own first flip?
My next cohort is starting soon.
Reach out I’ll send you more info.

08/09/2025

Applause is the new ghosting.

They love it, then vanish.
“We’ll call you to schedule something”
which is code for never.

So many brokers I speak to
They smile, nod,
And say it “sounds interesting.”
Then they vanish,

Just a quiet, polite ghosting.
And it makes you wonder,
Maybe they didn’t get it...
Is it the content?
Or the context?

Because when I talk to agents directly, they’re all in.
They want to learn how to work with investors.
They want creative deal structures,
Understand off-market options for their clients
And even learn to invest (in) themselves.

But when I pitch the same topic to brokers,
They freeze.
What they’re missing is:
Teaching investing isn’t recruiting.
I’m not recruiting your agents....
It’s equipping your agents to win more deals.

That’s why speaking at Coldwell Banker at Park Potomac last week
It was such a breath of fresh air.
Kelly Vezzi Nicklas Gets it
She immediately understood the value
She didn’t hesitate.
She invited me in.

Her team showed up curious,
sharp, ready to grow.
And that room wasn’t about theory.
It was about what’s possible when brokers open the door,
and let new ideas walk in.

If you’re a broker who’s been hesitant,
Ask your agents.
Let’s stop ghosting growth.
Let’s start the conversation.

Interested in learning how to flip while partnering with agents and investors?
Reach out.
I share strategies, processes, spreadsheets, and will even do the first deal with you.

07/29/2025

94% of the house was unusable
But the numbers still looked perfect on paper.

Numbers aren’t enough,
you need to walk the property.
Even conservative budgets can miss what hides behind walls.
I once evaluated an auction property using the most cautious numbers I could.

Full gut reno,
All new systems,
and worst-case scenario.
I couldn’t walk inside,
Just a drive-by and exterior view.

Still, I felt ready.
I had my numbers,
my team and my plan,
all ready.
Then came reality.

Behind those walls:
→ Structural rot in every corner
→ Unsafe framing and DIY construction

A staircase and basement slab,
That’s all we could salvage.

The renovation became a full new build.
Because the data didn’t show the damage.
Online photos are not the real condition.
Spreadsheets don't equate to a site visit.

Even the most seasoned investors
Miss what they can’t see.
Especially when they trust
The numbers more than they trust their gut.

The only reason we stayed afloat was:
- We had a strong design that didn’t need rewrites
- Our experienced crew re-scoped and rebuilt without panic

Will the profit be what we had hoped for?
No.
Will we lose money?
Also no.
But only because we were prepared to pivot, fast.

If you're relying on online data to replace real evaluation.
You're not investing,
you're gambling.

Walk it or plan like you won’t be able to.
But don’t pretend the spreadsheet will save you.

Interested in learning how to flip while partnering with agents and investors?
Reach out.
The next cohort starts tomorrow, July 29th.
I share strategies, processes, spreadsheets, and will even do the first deal with you.

07/23/2025

Agents who dislike investors are missing opportunities.
And leaving their sellers with fewer options.

I used to roll my eyes at investors too.
Because every time they showed up,
I thought: “Here comes another lowball offer.”

Back when I was just an agent,
I saw investors as deal-killers.
They’d place offers with numbers that insulted the seller
or wasted my time entirely.

I didn’t see them as partners.
I saw them as problems.
So if you’ve ever felt like investors sabotage your deals,
Trust me, I get it.

But then I became an investor
and realised the misunderstanding
That exists between agents and investors.

A couple of months ago
Lavina called me.
Not because she wanted to work with an investor.
She didn’t.
She needed help with a complicated seller.

Dave Parker from Village Settlements, an Atlantic Closing & Escrow Company referred her to me,
Not as a fellow agent.
But as someone who could solve it differently.
“This sounds like it’s right up her alley” he told her.

Lavina (LAV) Samtani probably wasn’t thrilled.
But as we walked through the situation together,
She realized something:
The investor mindset doesn’t hurt the deal It helps you solve it.

She ended up taking my class.
Recently, she’s solved two tricky seller situations.
And built her investor-buyer list
using the exact strategies she once resisted.

This happens frequently in my program.
Agents who thought investors were the enemy
Now use investor tools to win more listings,
close faster
And finally serve sellers with real solutions.

If you’ve ever thought:
“I’ll never get a deal through with an investor.”
You might just be missing what the right ones can unlock.

The truth is, you don’t need to be an investor.
But you do need to understand how they think.
That’s what I teach, step by step, with support.
So you never feel stuck in another Seller conversation again.

Agents and aspiring investors: the next Flip-Starter cohort begins July 29th.
Learn to collaborate and grow your business.

07/18/2025

I failed the investing questions on my continuing education class. 🙄

I took the investing class for my continuing education elective
Because Pfff...Peice of cake, right?

Well...I failed the simplest investing questions.
Not because I didn’t understand the material.
Because I did.
I knew the real answers.

But agents are not trained to think like investors.

One scenario:
A seller asks for the after-repair value.
The correct answer is:
Only tell her what it would sell for as-is.

Why?
Shouldn’t an agent be able to assess
The value of a property after renovations?

Another one:
An investor wants rentals near a university.
Correct answer: Show homes, but don’t speculate on rent.

Why?
Isn’t an agent trained to look up rentals?

On both examples, Just:
Don’t guess (we’re not),
Don’t think.

Here’s the problem:
Agents aren’t guessing.
We run comps.
We know what upgrades change value.

We know where rents are rising.
And if we don’t, we know how to research it.

But training tells us not to think.
And that’s why investors don’t trust agents.

Because we’re taught to avoid the information they need.
Real estate classes box us into buying and selling.
Everything only within the local contract.

No room for:
- Understanding cashflow
- Evaluating rental rates
- As-is vs. After Renovation Value

That’s why I built Flip-Starter and
My Agent-Investor Trainings.

Because talking about investments isn’t speculation.
Like any investment, there’s risk, but

→ Its strategy.
→ It’s a service.
→ It earns trust.
→ It’s expected

Tired of tiptoeing around investor questions?
Thinking you should be investing yourself?
You don’t need a new license.
You need new training.

My next cohort starts on July 29th
Weather you’re licensed or not,
If you want to learn to work with investors, I can show you how.
Reach out

07/17/2025

In real estate, so many of the coaches
Have never sold a single house.

This class wasn’t just theory,
It was mentorship in action.

Because, real coaching isn’t just PowerPoints.
It’s walking the deal,
breaking it down live.

Most real estate programs leave you stuck in theory.
They talk about flipping like it’s a vision board.

But last week, we were standing inside a property.
Running numbers,
Mapping problems,
Scope of work,
and Planning exit strategies, in real time.

Syam came to my class not to watch,
but to walk.
He saw how I evaluate projects,
deal with challenges,
and prep for the market,
all before the stagers Show up
and the after photos hit Instagram.

This is why I do what I do:
- To show you the actual flip.
- The mess, margins, and the moment decisions are made.
Because if you’ve only seen real estate on Zoom slides,
You’re not ready to do a deal.

Syam didn’t just learn from a classroom.
→ He learned from the field,
→ The contractor calls, and the comps.
→ That’s what mentorship should look like.

You don’t learn by watching.
You learn by doing the deal.
We don’t sell videos.
We flip with students.

If you want to finally do your first deal, Not just study it, you know where to find me.

07/01/2025

Most agents think investors are Lowballers.
Most investors think agents are lazy.

Agent vs. Investor:
The Truth No One Admits Is Real.
And it’s costing both sides
Not just deals,
but trust, time, and real income.

Agents feel like investors lowball,
vanish,
and only care about numbers.

Investors feel like agents don’t bring serious opportunities
or understand how ROI works.

And the truth?
Neither side is wrong.

They’re just trained for two completely different games.
- You’ve felt it
- In the ghosted DMs.
- In the silence after an offer.
- In the awkwardness when viewing a property.

→ Agents are taught to list for top dollar.
→ Investors are taught to buy under the market.
→ Both want to win,
→ Both can provide a solution
but they define serving & winning differently.

That’s where the tension starts.
But it’s not personal,
it’s procedural.

Most deals don’t fall apart because of price.
They fall apart because both sides assume the other doesn’t get it.

You’re not lazy.
You’re not disloyal.

You’re just seeing the deal from two different angles.

Once you understand how the other side thinks,
You stop second-guessing and start collaborating.

And when you do?
You close faster.
Earn more.
Stress less.

The best deals....
They’re not battles.
Their alignment.
You don’t need to switch sides.
You just need to expand your perspective.

Want your real estate business to feel less chaotic? Follow for clear systems and mentorship that work. ♻️ Repost this to help one more agent breathe easier.

06/24/2025

The seller said no to me. But Lisa still won.

Because she had a strategy that didn’t rely on pressure.
Most agents just list.
Lisa provides options
and wins.

When a seller wasn’t ready to move forward,
Most agents would’ve eventually walked away.

Lisa didn’t.
Because she had options.
Not just a listing option.
Not just a script.
A real conversation to understand the seller's situation.

A strategy we developed together.
→ Option A: List.
→ Option B: Bring in a trusted investor.
→ Option C: Structure a win that keeps the seller in the driver’s seat.

The result?
The seller stayed in the conversation for over a year.
And when they were ready, they chose Lisa.
Not because she pushed harder.
But because she came prepared.
- With a toolkit.
- A backup plan. -
And a whole new playbook.

Now Lisa’s inside my cohort.
She knows how to work with investors,
set up multiple offer paths,
and if she wants, build her own buying power
to invest herself.

From agent to dealmaker.
From “I hope I get the listing” to
“Let me give you three options.”

This is what happens when you open up opportunities
And when agents stop relying on just one strategy to make a deal.
Most agents feel powerless when a deal stalls.

Lisa learned to pause, pivot, and profit,
without leaving the table.

Because when you have more than one way to serve, you always stay in the game.

Want your real estate business to feel less chaotic?
Follow for clear systems and mentorship that work. ♻️ Repost this to help one more agent breathe easier.

06/19/2025

Several years ago I decided to start investing in Real estate.

After all, it makes no sense that an agent with my experience
isn’t using her knowledge to invest.

As I began my first project or two,
I found that the little money I had to invest
was tied up in those projects and I got stuck.

I couldn’t produce more projects without money…

Or could I?

I decided to research and see what strategies people use to invest with very little to no money.

I found that most successful investors,
Purchase and flip properties without using any of their own money.

So I'm sharing what I found with you.
I set up a guide to help you do the same.

"The No-Cash Real Estate Investing Blueprint"

In the guide, you will find:
-->A breakdown of the strategies that these leaders actually teach and use
-->A simple explanation of what each strategy is and how it works

In short:
Use what you have,
Not what you don’t.

Keep doing deals without waiting for one to close.
Start even if your bank account says “not yet”.

If you feel stuck and don’t know how to begin…
Start here.

Get the free guide now →
A link to the guide is in the comments

05/30/2025

Three years ago, I got laid off.

No warning.
No safety net.
Just a mass Zoom call.
It was over.

People reached out.
They said:
"But you gave up your franchise for this?"
I felt gut-punched.
↳ Shame. Worry. Anger.
→ I had shut down a successful business.
→ I had followed what felt like the right opportunity.
→ And suddenly, I was back at square one with nothing secure.

But I made a promise to myself:
→ I'm going to make this layoff the best thing that's happened to me.

→ I wouldn’t go back.
→ I wouldn’t rebuild the old life.
→ I’d build something of my own.

So I left for Costa Rica with my daughters.
I didn’t cancel.
I didn’t panic.
I gave myself space.

And on that beach, I made a decision:
I would stop depending on companies for stability.
I would bet only on myself.

Today, I’m happy to say:
✅ I’ve flipped multiple homes using creative strategies
✅ I’ve coached agents and investors through their first deals
✅ I’ve built a business rooted in systems, ownership, and peace of mind

That layoff?
↳ It didn’t break me.
It set me free.
I was the best thing that's happened to me.

If you’re in that “what now” moment — I’ve been there.
And here’s what I’ll tell you:
Take your first step, backed by experience.
You’re not behind. You’re just getting started.

P.S.
If this hit home, drop a 🔁 or comment where you’re starting from.
I read every one.
Because your comeback matters too.

06/02/2020

Inman Connect Now is a fully digital event that will bring together the real estate community in ...

Karen Parnes at Your Way Home Partners

10/25/2025

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