They broke into real estate with a credit card on Craigslist

Josh and Adam Justiniano are brothers, best friends, next-door neighbors, and co-partners at Quick Home Offers—where they’ve bought and renovated over 300 properties in Central and Southern California. Check out the unusual way they got into the game.

How they got started: A credit card, although Josh is quick to say, “We do not recommend this.” Back in 2013, the brothers charged a few thousand marketing mailers to plastic, then cold-called investors off Craigslist. One of them bit, offering a 25% equity stake if they could find a deal. They did: a three-bed, one-bath Bakersfield house for $32,000. After a rehab, they rented it out for about 10 years and recently sold it for $260,000. “Not a bad return,” Josh says.

Their market’s pros: “Southern and Central California have strong appreciation in both rents and values, with real economic drivers behind it,” Josh says. Santa Maria and Lompoc benefit from Space Force and a federal prison with plenty of “sticky government-tied jobs that don’t evaporate in a downturn.”

The cons: High costs, thin margins, and tenant-friendly laws make California tough for investors. Josh and Adam learned this after buying two triplexes in Lompoc for $850,000. “The renovations were extensive, but the real problem was the tenants,” Josh explains. Even by the book, with proper notice and relocation funds, “it took over six months to get them out.” But it was worth it: These six units recently appraised for $1.76 million and gross around $12,300 per month in rent.

Their advice: “California multifamily realty has slim cash flow, so you have to create it,” Josh explains. His go-to move: Install low-cost, high-impact upgrades like in-unit or coin washers and dryers, which attract tenants willing to pay more for the convenience of doing laundry at home.