Hidden Gems: Meet Rochelle Horton of Season Of Peace Real Estate Properties

Hi Rochelle, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Persistence-that is how I got to where I am today. I had a great life growing up. I was brought up by my mom, father, and brother for the most part. Let’s just say I’m a perfect blend of being my mother’s child, and acting like my daddy sometimes lol. My brother and I are 10 years apart so he was basically an adult by the time I was 8 always trying to boss me around lol. Life took off fairly fast for me after I got into high school. I got pregnant at the age of 16 and delivered when I was 17. I realized quickly what the term “you made your bed now lie in it” meant. Being pregnant at an early age made me the hustler I am today! I never wanted to be a major burden on anyone so I had to always make sure I was getting it or doing something to get it! After graduating high school I worked at places like Montgomery Wards and Sears Catalog. I just remember saying to myself there has got to be more to life. At this point I was attending college some days, dropping out of college other days, and just trying to figure it out. I was able to get on the Travis County Section 8 housing program in 2002 which ended up being a positive game changer for me. In 2004, I had a few life changing experiences that made that light bulb flicker non stop in my head. I was in my head tough; I mean tough. I decided to go get my Associate’s Degree, and I promised myself no matter what happens I wasn’t going to stop. I graduated in 2008 with an Associate’s in Paralegal Studies. While going to school I worked at Travis County Juvenile Detention Center part time, and I also started working full time for the Office of Attorney General/Child Support Division. Once I jumped in the legal field I was definitely intrigued and started looking at other positions to excel in. Every position I looked at needed at Bachelor’s. So here I am in my head like “You gotta keep going!” I obtained my Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from Huston Tillotson in 2010. After getting my Bachelor’s I went to Family Protective Services and worked in the legal field for about a year then I applied to be an Investigator for Adult Protective Services. This would be the position that embarked me on my entrepreneur journey. While working in APS I decided I wanted to own a home care agency. From working in the field I knew that there was a vulnerable population out there, and if I could be just run person sending out reliable caregivers it would make the community better. I was a homecare owner for three years before barking up the real estate tree. I tried to balance everything; work full time, run the home care agency, and scratch my itch in real estate. Ummm yea, it wasn’t happening. I eventually decreased my hours making me no longer a full time state worker, I let go of my home care agency, and decided to go full fledge into Real Estate & now I’m here.

My absolute first experience with Real Estate started when I purchased my first home in October 2009 after graduating off the Travis County Section 8 Program. The Section 8 program provided me with 10k down payment assistance to go towards a home. That home is now an investment property that is leased to Section 8 tenants.

I started actively investing in Real Estate in 2019 after dealing with family drama that derived from my Big Mama’s house. Once I started putting numbers together I quickly realized I needed some money to be a Real Estate Investor LOL. I decided to do a cash-out refinance on my home I purchased in 2009 which allowed me to pull 60k out. At first wholesaling peeked my interest. After learning how to assess properties instead of wholesaling homes I ended up acquiring homes for renovation. When I couldn’t find homes to renovate I started looking at vacant lots to develop new construction homes on. I was very fortunate to come in contact with a local mentor that walked me through my first renovation project. Immediately after that, I decided I wanted to get into new construction. I interviewed at least 10 General Contractors until I found the one! My GC Tano and I completed 2 new builds together, before his passing. Tano supplied me with so much knowledge. In addition to renovations and builds, I have also purchased buy and hold assets. My arena in Real Estate has spread quickly, and I love the fact of the many strategies of Real Estate.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A couple of the challenges that I have faced along the journey the most are unethical General Contractors. It can get very shady in these real estate streets. Other things I have faced consisted of not doing my due diligence as I should’ve. I purchased a lot, and resold it because I didn’t pay attention to the restrictions and jurisdiction. Real Estate is very rewarding, and as with everything the more persistent and consistent you are the more you learn and grow.

The road gets bumpy, I have my awesome days and my I’m not adulting at all today days. You have to wake up prepared to use all your brain muscles between people trying you, analyzing deals, dealing with UH OH and saying SHIT about 99 times in a hour span LOL. I am constantly learning new things. I have to always be in alignment with self care, resting, knowing which days to grind, and which days to just be there for other people. I have a 23 year old daughter that is evolving and determined to excel in her entrepreneur journey so it’s definitely history repeating itself in a good way, and I’m here for it! I would say the biggest challenge is time management sometimes it just isn’t enough time in the day to handle everything.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
As the Owner of the brand Season Of Peace, I am responsible for majority of the daily operations. I specialize in communicating with other professionals to acquire new projects. I love teaching others what I do and showing them the steps it takes to get from a distressed property to a home or from just a vacant lot to a home. I am proud that people depend on my team to get the job done by any means necessary. There is a solution for every problem, and sometimes it may not always be in the Investor’s favor. I pride myself on getting to the finish line, and not giving up when things get hard. With in the company I have learned other ways to acquire streams of income and help others by providing real estate consultations, and I started my Keeping It Flipping Brand Powered by Season Of Peace Real Estate Properties that offers a course on new build construction. I will be offering a fix and flip class soon, and basically I’m just giving out all the information I can to show others how to maneuver in the real estate industry.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
When Covid 19 first blew in it did delay some new construction loans, but I researched other lenders and found a winner in Loan Ranger out of Austin, Texas who approved my first new construction loan. Covid 19 didn’t stop real estate from selling in my market so the deals are constantly coming. I am learning everyday that you can’t do all this stuff by yourself, and I enjoy working with my team, and appreciate when they take some of the pressure off of me which they do OFTEN! If Covid 19 did anything it made me more resourceful, and I’m also seeing it bring out the beast in others aspiring to have multiple streams of income.  There is so much more to come!