Make Money with a Multimillion Dollar Real Estate Portfolio | Natalie Cloutier

French-Canadian real estate investor, designer, and developer Natalie Cloutier shares how she and her husband Rob went from broke 20-year-olds in a basement condo to building 50+ rental units and a multimillion-dollar portfolio using a no-money-down build-to-rent strategy. With a background in architectural technology and a focus on new construction, Natalie has turned sweat equity and creative financing into a full-time business, and recently distilled her approach into her book, “The Build-to-Rent Strategy: A Guide to a Successful Rental Property Construction.”​ On this episode we talk about: How Natalie and Rob built their first home and basement rental suite with essentially $0 down using sweat equity and construction financing The mechanics of build-to-rent/“BRRR 2.0”: Build, Rent, Refinance, Repeat—and how it differs from the traditional BRRR strategy What work they took on themselves vs. what they always hired out (electrical, drywall, finishes vs. structural, foundation, and plumbing) Why they prefer smaller infill projects like six-plexes instead of large, high-risk developments with heavy permitting costs How they manage leverage, cash flow targets per door, and why they’re choosing to pause, de-stress, and reassess what “enough” looks like after a decade of grinding Top 3 Takeaways You do not always need 20% down to get into real estate—using construction-to-perm style loans, sweat equity, and smart design, you can create deals by building rather than competing for existing inventory. Staying intentionally underleveraged and focusing on real cash flow per unit is often safer than chasing maximum refinancing or unit count, especially in volatile interest-rate environments. Your portfolio should support your life, not the other way around; periodically pausing to evaluate stress, health, and family priorities is just as important as growing doors or equity. Notable Quotes "We didn’t have money, so instead of buying someone else’s house, we built our own and used our work as the down payment." "BRRR 2.0 is the same idea as BRRR, but instead of ‘Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat,’ it’s ‘Build, Rent, Refinance, Repeat.’" "It’s not about how many units you own; it’s about how much money those properties actually make and whether the grind is worth it for your life." Connect with Natalie Cloutier: linktr.ee/thenewbuildcouple ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices