Meet Riley Wenger of Otis Street Realty

Today we’d like to introduce you to Riley Wenger.

Hi Riley, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Many of us have had defining moments that forever changed us, and our trajectory in life. My moment is clear as day in my mind, and I think back to it often when times get tough. My moment was during my senior year of university during my time studying abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I was in the back of an open-air truck driving to some waterfalls in rural Thailand, enjoying some of the most incredible scenery on earth. I had an out-of-body moment where I felt a complete sense of peace, and I had two realizations- one, I want to live a big, bold, adventure-filled life, and two, I wanted to dedicate my life to serving others. Since my time in Thailand, I spent two years living, working, and traveling internationally- living in 4 countries, having been to 6 continents and almost 30 countries. Though I loved my life abroad, I was living on pennies and was ready to come back home to the US and prioritize my career and financial security.

After moving back to my hometown of Denver, I got a salaried 9-5 desk job thinking this was the best possible thing I could do for my finances. I quickly realized how dead-wrong I was- I was hardly making ends meet even though I was working myself to the bone, and I was constantly exhausted and stressed. It was then when I started learning and researching about ways to become financially independent outside of a 9 to 5 job, which is when I came upon real estate and real estate investing. I  became obsessed. I was reading real estate investing books during my lunch breaks, listening to podcasts at every possible moment, and regularly attending meet-ups to learn from local agents and investors. After about a year of this, I finally decided I was ready to purchase my first investment property. I bought a house in the Denver area to“house hack”. I moved into one of the rooms, and rented out the rest of the house to other people. Once my house was fully rented, I was living for free. I couldn’t help but become enthralled with this idea and the power of real estate investing.

It was not long after that I quit my 9-5 job to work for a real estate brokerage and get my real estate license. Buying just one property forever changed my financial future, and I was ready to shout from the rooftops from excitement, and I wanted to teach others how they could do this, too. Today, I am a licensed Realtor with Metro Brokers, and I love teaching others how to leverage real estate to help them achieve their goals in life. Real estate is an incredibly powerful tool, and my goal is to teach others how to utilize it.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
One of my biggest obstacles has been overcoming “imposter syndrome”. I felt like becoming a Realtor and Real Estate Investor was so far out of my league and the realm of possibility for me, but with a ton of support from friends and family and a lot of time and dedication, it has become a reality!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
If my business model were to boil down to one simple thing, it would be: to educate clients to leverage real estate and make smart real estate decisions. Whether my client is an investor, a first time homeowner, or anywhere in between, real estate is a huge purchase and navigating the process can be daunting. My goal is to not only make the entire process seamless for each of my clients, but to give them the power by first educating them.

When I first meet with a new client, I always start with asking about my client’s life goals- where do they want to be in 5, 10, 30 years? I want to show people that purchasing real estate can help get them to their non-real estate related goals because real estate, when purchased strategically, can be a huge source of financial security or even lead to financial freedom. In my mind, having a strong financial foundation is not necessarily about being money rich, it is about being time rich. When you give yourself the gift of time, you can choose to work, choose who you spend your time with, choose where you spend your time, etc. You have a choice in how you live your life. I teach my clients a range of real estate strategies and help them come up with a plan to utilize real estate to help them achieve their dream life.

The next step is identifying my client’s current real estate needs and what they are looking for in a property. In the incredibly competitive real estate market we are currently experiencing, I have been focusing on implementing creative solutions to help my clients purchase a home. By coming up with strategies that aren’t run of the mill, I find my clients are often able to get into homes faster.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I have learned countless lessons along the way, but the number one thing I have learned is- just do it! I may sound like a walking Nike advertisement, but I firmly believe and attribute my success to just going for it- whatever “it” is at that moment in time. There is a well-known phrase in the real estate investing community called “analysis paralysis”, meaning people get so caught up in the learning and analysis stage of trying something new, that they never actually do it. While I highly value educating oneself before jumping into something new, I also believe only so much can be learned in advance- much of the learning happens while you are doing.

When I purchased my first real estate investment property, I was genuinely terrified and I felt like I was way in over my head. My dad has often told me throughout my life- “You know enough to get started. You don’t know what you don’t know, so trust in yourself you’ll figure it out along the way”, and he told me that on the day I purchased this property. Throughout the project, I slowly learned how to trust that I’ll be able to figure out the things I don’t know, and over time I’ve learned how to do it more and more gracefully. Trying something new takes courage, and it is important to trust in yourself. It might be a bumpy road, but with hard work and persistence, you’ll get there.

Contact Info:

• Email: rileyawenger12@gmail.com
• Website: https://cohomesalesinc.com/riley-wenger-agent/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realestateriley/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmA7fBx0GpXHXaxPr-Y54ZA