What do you do when your dream luxury short term rental literally burns to the ground with guests on the calendar and a five year plan tied to it?

In this episode of The Real Estate Pessimist, Kristi and Erik sit down with their friend and accountability pod mate, Anthony Guerra, to unpack what really happened the morning he got that text of his beautiful mountain cabin fully engulfed in flames. This is not a highlight reel story. It is Section 8 headaches, slumlord regrets, a pandemic pivot, a luxury STR win, and then a full body gut punch followed by a rebuild of everything that actually matters.

Here is what we get into:

• How Anthony went from restaurant owner working 80 to 90 hours a week to building a Section 8 portfolio in Atlanta

• The uncomfortable realization that his partner was operating like a slumlord and what it took to fix it

• Why the pandemic forced him to ask, "What am I doing with my life and my time with my kids?"

• The first farm STR experiment and the painful lesson of DIY rehabs that take nine months

• Designing a true luxury STR with a sauna, wellness deck, and sunset views that blew the market away

• The morning his neighbor called to say, "Your house is on fire" and the emotional free fall that followed

• The relief of knowing guests were safe and the surprising gratitude for community and neighbors

• What he learned about insurance, total loss, and redeploying capital instead of rebuilding on autopilot

• How the right mastermind, pod, and mentors helped him see new options when his brain only saw one

• Building self managing systems, hiring partners, and asking for help instead of doing everything alone

• Why he now believes there is almost no scenario he cannot navigate in real estate

Bold truth: In real estate, disaster is not optional. What you do with it is.

🎧 Listen now: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealEstatePessimist/videos

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🎧 Want more from Kristi? Hear how she’s helping locals become developers in their own communities by removing the gatekeeping.

→ Listen to the Local Real Estate Developer Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@LocalRealEstateDeveloper/podcasts

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