45. She Bought Her First Investment Property in Mexico | With Ingrid Morales

Send us Fan MailWhat if your first real estate investment wasn't even in the country you live in—and it ended up teaching you everything you needed to know to build a multi-million dollar portfolio?In this episode, Violeta and Lindsay sit down with Ingrid Morales, a first-gen Latina who built financial freedom from the ground up through real estate investing. Ingrid shares how her journey started not with a plan, but with a library book called "Real Estate Riches" and a friend's simple request to run the numbers on an Airbnb property in Mexico. That analysis turned into her own first investment, and unknowingly, the beginning of her real estate career.Throughout the conversation, Ingrid opens up about the reality of investing internationally before you're ready, including the hard lesson that no US lending institution would let her pull equity from her property in Mexico, forcing her to start over from scratch. She talks candidly about what it felt like to have "nothing to show" despite owning an income-producing property, and how that setback pushed her to get serious about education, mentorship, and building a team instead of trying to do everything alone.Violeta, Lindsay, and Ingrid dig into why being willing to be the "dumbest person in the room" is one of the most valuable things you can do as a new investor, especially as first-gen Latinas navigating spaces we weren't necessarily raised in. Ingrid shares how attending real estate meetups, networking relentlessly, and being upfront about what she didn't know eventually led to something bigger: people started bringing deals to her, instead of her having to go find them.They also break down Ingrid's shift from single-family investing to multifamily and commercial real estate, and why she believes starting with multifamily, despite the higher barrier to entry, allows for far greater scalability than buying one property at a time. Ingrid explains how her strategy has since evolved again, moving toward partnering on deals and private money lending, and the trust, track record, and risk tolerance required to get there.One of the most personal parts of the conversation centers on Ingrid's "why": building a retirement fund and paying off her mother's house, all funded by cash flow from her real estate portfolio while she intentionally keeps her W-2 income low through a tax-sheltering strategy. She also shares how a spontaneous Instagram post turned into her financial freedom coaching business, Hustle With Ingrid, after 20 people DMed her wanting to learn what she knew.Violeta and Lindsay reflect on their own parallel journeys, from Violeta's own plans to start investing in Mexico to the reminder that every investor, no matter how experienced, is always going to be learning something new. This episode is a real, unfiltered look at what it actually takes to go from "I don't know what I'm doing" to building generational wealth for your family, one calculated risk at a time.Whether you're intimidated by your first deal, curious about investing outside the US, or wondering how to scale from single-family to multifamily, this episode is packed with real talk, encouragement, and a reminder that you don't need to have it all figured out to start—you just need to start.Links Mentioned:Free Latinas in Real Estate CommunityLearn more about Hustle With Ingrid (waitlist open now)Follow: Ingrid Morales_ on all platformsSupport the showJoin my Latina Real Estate Investors Community (FREE)https://www.skool.com/real-estate-jefas-9075/aboutGet my FREE Real Estate Investing Starter Kit https://moneychisme.kit.com/rei-starter-kitProperty Management made easy with RentRedihttps://app.rentredi.com/signUp/AOK400?utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=referralShareManage Your Funds with BASELANE Bankinghttps://invite.baselane.com/Violeta84614Follow us on Social Mediahttps://www.instagram.com/money_chisme/https://www.instagram.com/lindoesinvesting/Disclaimer:We are not financial advisors. The information contained in this video is for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a licensed professional before making any financial decisions. Affiliate links: I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. This helps me provide you with free content, like this podcast! You can read my full disclaimer here: ...