Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lorraine Beato. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lorraine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

We purchased a fix and flip property in San Antonio, Texas and tried our first long distance rehab. It was a nightmare – the initial contractor used our deposit to pay for his son’s funeral – I found out once I started digging and saw he was returning items purchased to rehab back to Lowes via the My Lowes app. He screwed us royally, stripped the house when we fired him. 2 more contractors later and then 3 realtors once complete and we dumped it. Lost $70k and the crook contractor put a lien on our home after stealing our money and materials (oh and he tried to pick up the stove and fridge from Best Buy!!) Thank goodness I had called them and they pulled it off the floor!!! we dumped it to get out of it after 14 months

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Being in love with history, architecture and many of the palaces, monasteries and historic places she visited while on vacation as a child in Portugal, Lorraine has always had a love for all things related to real estate. Thanks to her uncle Mario who would take a week off every summer when she visited Portugal, her eyes were opened to amazing structures that were built as early back as 1100 AD. Lorraine was always fascinated at what people were able to construct and create all those centuries ago without the modern conveniences and tools of the 20th century. She didn’t just walk through these places as a tourist, she would always look further and take a deep look at the construction, the curves of the flying buttresses, the stained glass windows, the intricacies of the features on many of the stone carvings and when available, the furnishings of the era. She would oftentimes stand there and try to imagine how the people lived in these residences all those centuries ago.
Today, Lorraine fosters community by building a strong network of real estate-focused professionals. Clients and investors alike rely on her sharp eye for cost and value in an ever-changing market. Other real estate agents value Lorraine as a trusted mentor. She’s also the author of Flip the Switch from Real Estate Agent to Real Estate Investor teaching real estate agents how to invest in the thing they sell every day. She’s the founder and leader of WIRED – Women Investing in Real Estate Dominate, an organization that empowers women in real estate to achieve their real estate investing goals and live life on their terms.
Through Lorraine Beato International, Lorraine is an advocate and consultant to descendants of immigrants in Portugal who have inherited properties. Many need to go through the probate process or need help deciding the best way to sell or renovate the property to keep their family’s legacy just as she did.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Telling people the truth whether or not they want to hear it. I’ve told people not to buy a house because I didn’t feel it was the right thing at the time. Just being straightforward with people and transparent. I talk the talk and walk the walk. I won’t give anyone advice that I wouldn’t use myself.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2020 I was going to pivot more out of sales and into mentoring, speaking and launching a book. My husband had been laid off for 4 years and had finally gotten a job June of 2019. I thought all was well, steady paycheck, health benefits and I could follow a path I had been wanting to do. March 2020 the world got shook, he lost his job and I was like … oh my goodness (well, those weren’t exactly my words). I hadn’t really marketed and had mentally shifted to go down this other path when the rug got pulled out from under me. I had to pivot back even though my heart wasn’t 100% into it, my head was like – this is what you have to do. You have to be the provider again. 2020 was one of the worst years I had had in a long time but by 2021, I had the second best year in my career. I dug in, I did what I had to do, got back out networking virtually, staying in touch with past clients and putting out informative content on FB which drew in clients that I didn’t even know I was friends with!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lorrainebeato.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/lorrainebeat
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/lorrainebeatointernational
• Linkedin: https://linkedin/in/lorrainebeato