The Fitze is Right | A Real Estate Podcast

I Bought 4 Beach Condos, Rented Them Out for Years, Then Sold Everything... Here's Why

In Episode 10 of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze tells a story she's never shared on the podcast — her own. Not a client's deal. Not a horror story from a transaction. This is Jen and her husband's personal journey buying, renting, and selling four beach condos in Ocean City, Maryland. It started with a dream. Growing up, Jen and Chris each had one week at the beach per year. That was all their families could afford. When they got married, they started renting the same condo in Ocean City for two weeks every summer — spending over $3,000 a year on someone else's property. After four or five years of this, Jen asked the question that changed everything: what if we just bought one? They got approved — she still doesn't know how — and found their dream unit at the Capri. Right on the beach. Beautiful view. $10,000 over budget, because of course it was. They hired a property manager, rented it out when they weren't there, and the first year the numbers came in: $30,000 in rental income against $27,000-$28,000 in expenses. Barely breaking even — but they had a beach house. The plan was simple: buy a new condo every two years, using the rental history to qualify for the next mortgage. By the end, they owned four units. One bedroom on the ocean. Two-bedroom oceanfronts. A bayside unit where they could watch fireworks from the balcony — Jen's absolute favorite. Then COVID hit. No rentals allowed. Four mortgages plus their primary home. No income. "We went broke a little." Jen pulls back the curtain on the tenant nightmares — renters who opened the sliders and ran the AC at 58 degrees all weekend, destroying the entire unit. Curling iron burns on white dressers. Bottle caps down the garbage disposal. Margarita stains on white pillows, flipped over like Jen wouldn't notice. Eventually, they made the decision to sell. The first condo — purchased for $270,000 — sold for $475,000. Six years of equity growth. They used a 1031 exchange to defer taxes, rolled everything into a new home, and now have a tiny mortgage. Jen's verdict on being a landlord? Social media glamorizes it. The internet makes you think it's passive income. It's not. It's a second job with no days off. It's a financial gamble. And a pandemic can wipe you out overnight. If you're going to do it, have your strategy, your team, and your expectations in order — or you're going to fail. In this episode you'll learn: → How Jen and her husband went from renting to owning 4 beach condos → The real math of vacation rental income vs. expenses → What COVID did to landlords who depended on seasonal rentals → The worst thing tenants ever did to one of their condos → What a 1031 exchange is and how it defers your taxes → Why "passive income" from rentals is mostly a myth → The one lease rule every landlord should have New episodes weekly. Follow Jen Fitze on social media for daily real estate tips. Thanks for listening to The Fitze Is Right with Jen Fitze... the real estate podcast that tells you what your agent won't. New episodes drop every other week. If this episode helped you or made your jaw drop, leave a 5-star review; it's the single best way to help new listeners find the show. Got a real estate horror story of your own? We want to hear it. Send your story to @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate and Jen might read and react to it live on a future episode. CONNECT WITH JEN: All socials @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate WORK WITH JEN: Buying or selling a home in Maryland? Jen has over 20 years of experience helping families in Harford County, Baltimore County, and beyond. Reach out at jensellsmd@gmail.com

My Seller Got Arrested Twice & Locked Me Out The Basement

In Episode 9 of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze tells the story of the most chaotic listing of her career — one that ended with an arrest, a restraining order, and a seller she's still tagged as "incarcerated" in her CRM. It started as a simple referral. A realtor friend at a 55-and-older new construction community in Perry Hall called Jen to list a woman's house. The seller needed to sell in order to qualify to buy in the new community. Simple enough. Jen drove down, met the woman — super sweet, 90 pounds, not even five feet tall — toured the house, which was clean and beautifully decorated. Everything seemed perfect. Then Jen heard yelling from the basement. On the tour, one daughter's bedroom was locked with a note that said she could never show it. The stairwell to the basement had no trespassing signs posted in the seller's own home. The basement was completely off limits. What Jen discovered: one daughter upstairs had mental health issues. Another daughter and her wife were living in the basement rent-free, screaming obscenities at their mother. The husband, sitting on the couch ignoring everything, apparently doesn't live there — and now Jen knew why. It got worse. During listing photos, the upstairs daughter's bedroom door had warnings written on it: "Keep out. No trespassing. You'll go to jail." When the daughter was finally gone, Jen was able to see the room — the walls were covered in drawings and nasty messages to the mother. In Sharpie. Then came the phone call no agent ever expects. The builder's agent called: "We have a problem." The 90-pound seller had been arrested for assault on her basement daughter. A restraining order was filed — against the mother. She couldn't return to her own house. The daughters threw her clothes on the front lawn. A few days later? Arrested again. Same charge. Jen had to withdraw the listing and put in the notes: "Seller is incarcerated." The seller lost $10,000 in good faith deposit on the new construction because she couldn't sell her house. The daughters won — they were living there for free and sabotaged the entire sale. Jen also breaks down the financial reality of being a realtor that most people don't understand: agents front all costs out of pocket, don't get paid until settlement, and if the deal falls through, they eat every dollar they invested. Plus four scenarios that can kill a deal — from financing falling through to title search surprises. In this episode you'll learn: → What happens when a seller's family sabotages a home sale → Why the basement is where all the problems hide → What realtors actually pay out of pocket before getting paid → Why realtors only earn about $40/hour when you break it down → Four things that can kill a deal between contract and closing → Why you should never buy anything during escrow — not even gum New episodes weekly. Follow Jen Fitze on social media for daily real estate tips. Thanks for listening to The Fitze Is Right with Jen Fitze... the real estate podcast that tells you what your agent won't. New episodes drop every other week. If this episode helped you or made your jaw drop, leave a 5-star review; it's the single best way to help new listeners find the show. Got a real estate horror story of your own? We want to hear it. Send your story to @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate and Jen might read and react to it live on a future episode. CONNECT WITH JEN: All socials @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate WORK WITH JEN: Buying or selling a home in Maryland? Jen has over 20 years of experience helping families in Harford County, Baltimore County, and beyond. Reach out at jensellsmd@gmail.com

The Truth About Home Inspections... Plus I'm Reading Your Wildest Comments

In Episode 8 of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze breaks down the entire home inspection process from start to finish — and then reads and responds to the wildest comments from social media about previous episodes. First, Jen walks through exactly what happens during a home inspection — when it occurs, what inspectors check, what they're NOT allowed to check, and how much it costs. She reveals that inspectors can't move furniture, can't see inside walls, and can't look under carpet. Your inspection is a snapshot of two hours on one random day — nothing more. She breaks down the different types of inspections most buyers don't know they can get — radon, chimney, pool, well and septic, environmental — and explains why each one matters. She shares the story of the worst inspection she's ever seen: a row home in Dundalk with a 100-page report and 12 pages of repairs. The buyers still went through with it. Then Jen gets personal. She reveals that her own house had a failed radon test and a broken window, the sellers refused to fix either one, and the listing agent threatened to put it back on the market. She's been in the house for 12 years and still hasn't fixed the radon. "It's a when we sell problem." In the What Your Agent Won't Tell You segment, Jen drops a bomb: not all agents want a thorough inspector. Some agents want the deal to go through with no hiccups, so they recommend inspectors they know won't flag everything. Jen's philosophy? "It's way more important for me to lose a deal than for you to move into a problem house." Then the episode takes a turn as Jen reads and responds to comments from social media — including one buyer who found a video of the seller on the news talking about being scared of flooding, another who discovered a photoshopped fire in listing photos that led to the photographer being held liable, and a person who backed out of a $360,000 condo eight years ago that's now worth $500,000. "I'm still homeless," they wrote. In this episode you'll learn: → The full home inspection process from start to finish → What inspectors can and can't do — including what they're not allowed to touch → The #1 red flag that means walk away immediately → What radon is, why it's dangerous, and why most homeowners don't know they have it → Why not all agents want a thorough inspector → How to research and choose the right inspector → What a CLUE report is and why every buyer should pull one → Real stories from viewers about inspection nightmares and disclosure disasters New episodes weekly. Follow Jen Fitze on social media for daily real estate tips. Thanks for listening to The Fitze Is Right with Jen Fitze... the real estate podcast that tells you what your agent won't. New episodes drop every other week. If this episode helped you or made your jaw drop, leave a 5-star review; it's the single best way to help new listeners find the show. Got a real estate horror story of your own? We want to hear it. Send your story to @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate and Jen might read and react to it live on a future episode. CONNECT WITH JEN: All socials @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate WORK WITH JEN: Buying or selling a home in Maryland? Jen has over 20 years of experience helping families in Harford County, Baltimore County, and beyond. Reach out at jensellsmd@gmail.com

From Homeless & In Debt to Buying Her First Home At 24... Here's How

In Episode 7 of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze sits down with Jocelynn, a 24-year-old first-time homebuyer who just closed on her first house. In a market where the average first-time buyer is 40 years old, Jocelynn did it at 24 — self-employed, fresh out of debt, with a credit score she'd been rebuilding for less than two years. Two years ago, Jocelynn quit her corporate job to start her own business. She went into debt. Credit card companies were calling every day. She was Googling "how long does a delinquency stay on your credit" and convinced she wouldn't be able to buy a home until she was 45. She moved in with her grandmother. She lived on top of a garage with mice. On paper, buying a house was impossible. Then she met Jen at a local event and said five words: "I want to buy a house." Jen didn't flinch. A year later, they were looking at houses together. The first house they loved fell through over Christmas — the sellers kept countering with worse terms, demanding inspections on impossible timelines, and refusing to budge. Jocelynn was heartbroken. She started doubting whether she could actually do this. Jen didn't let her sit in it. In January, Jen pulled a new list of houses and said "we're going." The third house on that list changed everything. A 1950s home with a rounded Hobbit-looking front door, a stone sunroom with old Baltimore charm, and way more space than anyone would expect from the outside. Jocelynn knew before she opened the front door. The seller's agent had texted that morning saying "just bring an offer." The seller accepted. It was meant to be. On final walkthrough day, Jocelynn's car broke down — a $5,000 repair on the same day she was signing closing papers. Her mom saw the house for the first time. Jen had secretly fixed radiator issues during the inspection that Jocelynn didn't even know about until this episode. In one of the most emotional moments in the show's history, Jocelynn breaks down in tears reflecting on her journey — from debt and doubt to waking up every day in a home she owns. "It's more than a house," she says. "It's a representation of what you can do when you follow your heart." Jen also reveals what happens behind the scenes that buyers never see — including the 173 items on her personal checklist for every single transaction. In this episode you'll learn: → How a 24-year-old self-employed first-time buyer got approved and closed → Why the first house falling through was actually a blessing → What to do when a seller counters with unreasonable terms → How to trust the process even when it feels impossible → What your agent actually does behind the scenes (173 things) → The most important quality to look for in a realtor → Why you should tell your agent and lender EVERYTHING upfront New episodes weekly. Follow Jen Fitze on social media for daily real estate tips. Thanks for listening to The Fitze Is Right with Jen Fitze... the real estate podcast that tells you what your agent won't. New episodes drop every other week. If this episode helped you or made your jaw drop, leave a 5-star review; it's the single best way to help new listeners find the show. Got a real estate horror story of your own? We want to hear it. Send your story to @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate and Jen might read and react to it live on a future episode. CONNECT WITH JEN: All socials @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate WORK WITH JEN: Buying or selling a home in Maryland? Jen has over 20 years of experience helping families in Harford County, Baltimore County, and beyond. Reach out at jensellsmd@gmail.com

Their Agent Told Them a $22,000 Roof Problem Was 'No Big Deal'

In Episode 6 of The Fitze Is Right, Maryland realtor Jen Fitze does something different — she reads a real viewer's home buying horror story for the first time and reacts live. A first-time buyer couple found their dream home — a three-bedroom colonial listed at $385,000. Their agent told them to offer $15,000 over asking. They did. The offer was accepted. During the home inspection, the inspector flagged the roof — said it had about 2 to 3 years left and would eventually need to be replaced. Their agent told them it was no big deal, totally normal for a house this age, and not to ask for a repair credit because it might upset the sellers. They trusted their agent and didn't ask for anything. Four months after closing, the first big rainstorm hit. Water poured through the bedroom ceiling. They called a roofer who told them the roof wasn't 2 to 3 years from replacement — it was shot. Multiple layers of shingles had been roofed over instead of torn off. The repair estimate came back at $22,000. They called their agent. Her response? "That's homeownership." Jen's reaction is exactly what you'd expect from someone who's spent 20+ years fighting for her clients. She breaks down every mistake that was made — from the agent not pushing back on the roof, to the inspector missing the multiple layers, to the fact that a specialist should have been brought in before closing. She explains why a good agent uses inspection findings as leverage every single time and why the phrase "it might upset the sellers" should never come out of your buyer's agent's mouth. The hard truth? At this point, the buyers have no options. They've closed. They have to pay for the roof. But they also learned the most expensive lesson in real estate: your agent's experience and willingness to fight for you is worth more than anything else in the transaction. Jen also answers rapid fire questions including whether multiple layers of shingles is a deal breaker, the most expensive mistake she's seen a buyer make, and what first-time buyers should do before hiring an agent. In this episode you'll learn: → Why "it might upset the sellers" is the biggest red flag from a buyer's agent → What multiple layers of roofing means and why it's a serious warning sign → Why you should always bring in a specialist for big-ticket inspection items → What options buyers have after closing when they discover hidden problems → The most expensive mistake first-time buyers make → How to find the right agent before you start your home search Got a real estate horror story? Send it in — Jen might read and react to yours on a future episode. New episodes weekly. Follow Jen Fitze on social media for daily real estate tips. Thanks for listening to The Fitze Is Right with Jen Fitze... the real estate podcast that tells you what your agent won't. New episodes drop every other week. If this episode helped you or made your jaw drop, leave a 5-star review; it's the single best way to help new listeners find the show. Got a real estate horror story of your own? We want to hear it. Send your story to @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate and Jen might read and react to it live on a future episode. CONNECT WITH JEN: All socials @jenniferfitzecompassrealestate WORK WITH JEN: Buying or selling a home in Maryland? Jen has over 20 years of experience helping families in Harford County, Baltimore County, and beyond. Reach out at jensellsmd@gmail.com