It’s interview day on Hanha Hobson, and I am so excited to introduce Katelynn from The Inspiring Investment! Katelynn and her husband Uriah are actually sponsoring the first ever T-Time event, and I could not be more honored to partner with them. When I first found out about their business, I was very intrigued by their story. I don’t want to get into too many details because you’ll read it for yourself soon below, but I hope you enjoy reading how they turn unwanted houses into beautiful homes. God is faithful!
1. Tell me about yourself and how The Inspiring Investment came to be.
My name is Katelynn, a former ICU nurse – turned real estate investor. I’m grateful to be married to my best friend, Uriah. We work together to run The Inspiring Investment. The groundwork for our company was set when we bought our first house: a fixer-upper. We didn’t buy it because we wanted to be real estate investors. We bought it because we were broke.
The beginning of Uriah and I’s relationship certainly wasn’t a fairy tale. I was not following the Lord as a young college student; I wrestled with a rebellious heart and Uriah wasn’t even a believer. Long story short – we ended up getting pregnant. To make things worse, during my pregnancy, my parent’s marriage fell apart. The should-be excitement of a new baby was drowned out by disappointment, anger, resentment, and depression: not to mention – strained finances. These combined emotions and the learning curve of motherhood left me feeling at rock bottom. However, God was at work in our redemptive story.
Read more about their story here.
While in Prague, (taking the only course available that would allow him to finish his Industrial Design degree in time for our baby girl’s arrival), Uriah met a man who was leading a missions trip group. This man eventually lead him to Faith in Christ. He came back home and asked me to marry him.
A few months into our marriage, we were still struggling with the drama that had been our life and adjusting to parenthood.
We found it on Craigslist, located in the middle of nowhere in Holly Springs, NC. It needed so much work: unwanted and ugly, but when we walked in the door, all we saw was potential.
We knew we needed to push the reset button, and this house was it for us.
Four years of DIY projects and lots of home depot trips later, we sold our first “flip.”
2. What types of services do you provide and what do you hope to accomplish with your business?
- Buying Houses – Our services primarily include buying houses that need work from individuals who want a convenient, stress-free way to sell their home as-is, in the timeframe that works for their specific needs.
- Retail Listings – Uriah is an experienced broker who has over 500 transactions under his belt. He can help clients list their home and find their next one. His experience in construction and real estate is a valuable asset to his clients.
- Design Consultation – Over time I have learned the valuable skill of achieving a great design at the best price. I can help guide you in making the best selections towards showcasing your biggest investment – your home!
We want to grow a successful brand with influence. Our goals are:
- To reach homeowners who have a house in disrepair and sellers who want another option in selling their home.
- To inform, entertain, and inspire people with home, renovation, design and real estate interests.
- To be salt and light: do good work that reflects the redemptive-renovation work Christ wants to do in us.
3. Can you talk a little bit more about the name of your business? Why and how did you choose it?
Yes! The name of our brand developed out of the goals listed above.
To be different. We aim to do good work and treat people well. Investors sometimes have a bad rap and house flippers are known to do sub-par work. When you see a “we buy ugly houses” sign, how do you feel? Kind of yucky, right? A feeling that may reflect how a seller feels about themselves or situation. We don’t want to be a company that exists to continue that cycle. Our name exists to reflect hope and change.
To influence, inspire, and inform people. We feel passionate about real estate and renovation and would love to influence the way people view their home. For some – it’s the biggest investment they will ever make.
4. You mention that the message of your company lies in the redemptive work of restoring homes. Tell me more about that.
One house flip, in particular, made the correlation remarkably clear: The Overgrown Ranch.
The family we bought it from was going through a difficult season. The house was their father’s and they’d just lost their mother. The father was in poor health and needed assisted living. His house was in bad shape as well, but we saw its potential.
We stayed in communication with the family up until and even after closing, and ended up inviting them back after the renovation was complete. The gorgeous reno was completely staged, ready for its debut. We’d torn down walls, created an amazing layout for entertaining, complete with a fully renovated kitchen. It felt brand new. The family wandered around the house they once knew, caring for their aging parents. It was a quiet and bitter-sweet moment.
One of the daughters walked up to me with tears in her eyes and told me, “It’s like you have completely redeemed this house and brought redemption to the whole situation, you know, it’s kind of like how Christ redeems us!” At that point, we both had tears in our eyes.
Renovations so beautifully mirror the redemptive work of Jesus. I believe when God looks at us, he sees potential, too.
He wants to renovate our hearts.
5. How do you find the courage to spread the gospel and share Christ’s love through your business? Have you faced any challenges around this?
Sharing the gospel: honestly, I’ve had a lifetime of struggle with this subject. It’s only recently felt more natural and less awkward to be open in this area, perhaps because I’m beginning to see that God knew what He was doing all along. I think He allowed me to have the story I do to open my eyes to my own depravity. He has given me the role I have, so I can do this: tell my story and make a real-life analogy about the beautiful work of Jesus.
For us, renovations have always come hand in hand with a redemption.
As a young woman, my rebellious heart led me astray, away from the boundaries of God’s best for me, resulting in some poor choices that affected the rest of my life. Uriah and I ended up pregnant and I was a single parent for a period of time. My parent’s divorce left me struggling with anger and resentment. A lifetime of issues with comparison and forgiveness ate away at me. Thank goodness I serve a God that works all things for good. Slowly, God worked in my heart. It’s by His grace, I see my need for His redemption. Instead of living in shame of my past, I live free of condemnation. I am a renovation in progress.
I often tell Addison (my oldest) that her life changed my life – how precious she is to me! Uriah is an amazing man who is the perfect compliment to me and we are now blessed with 4 beautiful children. Our strong community of friends challenge us to be more like Jesus and our business gives us the means to do that. God is so gracious!
There are pieces of life that are filled with blessings alongside painful, difficult moments and poor choices – it’s all being woven together to create a beautiful tapestry: your story. When your work is a natural extension of His work, it becomes easier and easier to share it.
6. What advice do you have for people who may be interested in this type of work?
I think my biggest piece of advice would be to not give up! If flipping houses is something you want to do – go for it! You can do anything you put your mind to.
**But be forewarned – Flipping houses is not passive income. I think a lot of people like the idea of real estate because it can make their lives easier or make them easy money. It’s true – real estate has the power to open that potential – but it’s a long play.
I’ve never worked harder or more hours in my life, BUT, I love it.
I love it because it’s a part of who I am, I can feel God moving in me through this work I’m doing. For the first time in my life, I’m where He wants me to be.
So, if real estate investing or flipping houses would do this to your soul, yes, you need to do it.
To get started:
- Read, Read, Read
- Study your local real estate market
- Subscribe to blogs that talk about real estates, like mine 🙂
- Listen to podcasts
- Connect with other like-minded individuals
7. How can my readers stay connected with you?
I’m glad you asked! We are on Instagram @inspiring.investment, Twitter @inspiringinvest, Facebook: The Inspiring Investment, and Pinterest The Inspiring Investment – we make boards for each of our flips so you can see the vision, too!
You can also subscribe to our monthly email where we share what we are learning on our journey in real estate and entrepreneurship including exclusive breakdowns and current project updates, not to mention, all the good deals on products we’re finding for your next home renovation project.
Wasn’t that awesome?! They really are inspiring! Thank you so much, Katelynn for sharing your amazing words of wisdom and for being bold enough to share you and Uriah’s story.
If you didn’t already know, The Inspiring Investment is sponsoring Hanha Hobson’s first live event: T-Time! Come and meet Katelynn all while learning how to be more confident in the woman God has created you to be. In this women’s empowerment workshop, we will use transparency and connection to actually start believing that we are significant. Grab your seat now! Breakfast will be provided and there will also be sponsored giveaways and gift bags. Space is limited.
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