Overcoming Burnout – Why Austin Geiser Left Wholesaling for Hard Money Lending

Bryce
Today we have Mr. Austin Geiser. Thanks so much for being here!

Austin
Absolutely, thanks for having me. I’m excited to chat with you.

Bryce
This will be fun! Like I said earlier, I love talking to anyone in the lending space. It doesn’t matter how much experience someone has. This community is amazing—so kind and always willing to help, whether it’s sharing deals, capital, paperwork, or anything else. It’s just such a great space to be a part of. So, first and foremost, I’d love for the audience to get to know you better. Can you share your background and how you ended up in real estate and lending?

Austin
Sure! I started in construction right after high school, working for two years. Eventually, I realized manual labor wasn’t for me, so I moved to Hawaii on a whim. I pulled out my 401K, thinking I might start a business, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like. Through Craigslist, I connected with someone who became my first mentor in real estate. He taught me about wholesaling and fix-and-flip. I ended up using my 401K to fund a few deals with him.

Interestingly, I started lending before I even knew what it was. I didn’t fully understand the process, but I had the capital, and he asked me to finance a project with him. We partnered on a few deals, and I learned the ropes while making money from my investment.

I lived in Hawaii for a couple of years, then moved back to Southern California. At that point, I had a basic understanding of wholesaling and fix-and-flip, but I wasn’t sure what my next move should be. I joined New Western Acquisitions, a nationwide wholesale company, where I worked for four years. I really dove deep into the wholesaling side—acquisitions, underwriting deals, and disposition. During this time, I started building connections with lenders, which was helpful when I referred buyers to the right financing.

When COVID hit in 2020, I decided to leave and branch out on my own. A friend of mine, who had left the company earlier, was wholesaling and doing fix-and-flips on his own. He called me and suggested we partner up. He told me that I didn’t need the company and could do it independently while keeping a bigger share of the profits. So, we ran the business for a few years, did well, and built a solid network of buyers.

However, I eventually realized that the wholesale business wasn’t for me. The overhead grew from $2,500 a month to $25-35K, and there was no recurring revenue. The grind of always finding the next deal was exhausting. I decided to step away.

I had a friend, Cat Rao, who had been in the lending space for a few years. She’d been successful in hard money lending and suggested I interview with her company. She said my network would be an asset, and I’d easily transition into lending. I went in for the interview, and that’s when I started learning about loan origination and the lending side of things. The recurring revenue aspect really appealed to me—it was the opposite of wholesaling. Now, I could work with the same borrowers repeatedly, and I didn’t have to chase new deals constantly.

I joined the lending space in May of last year, and it’s now my primary focus. I still do some wholesaling and fix-and-flips on the side, but lending is where I’m most passionate. Thanks to the network I built, the transition has been smooth, and I’ve been fortunate that many of my past buyers have come over to work with me on the lending side. I’m really happy with where I am now.

Bryce
Wow, there’s a lot to unpack here! First, I’m really curious about your time in Hawaii. What was the catalyst that led you to real estate? Connecting with someone on Craigslist is such an interesting story. Were you actively looking to get into real estate, or was it just a coincidence?

Austin
I was actually following Cody Sperber, one of the OGs in the wholesaling education space, back in 2014-2015. At the time, I was still figuring out what I wanted to do career-wise, but I followed Cody on Instagram and bought his e-book. His e-book was all about wholesaling, and he emphasized finding buyers before finding deals. Ironically, I don’t agree with that approach anymore—now I believe you should find the right deals, and the buyers will follow.

I was living on the Big Island of Hawaii, which is a pretty rural area. There weren’t many investors there, but deals were still happening. One day, I went on Craigslist and made up a fake ad for a house. The numbers were good, but it wasn’t a real deal—I just wanted to see if anyone would reach out. The first person who called me was Elmer Solis, one of the biggest investors on the island. He told me, “I know your ad is fake, but you’re obviously trying to do something. Let’s grab coffee and chat.”

What was supposed to be a quick coffee turned into a four-and-a-half-hour conversation, where Elmer shared everything he knew about real estate. His openness allowed me to learn a lot from him. A former Marine without a formal education, he gained his knowledge the hard way through trial and error. The insights and motivation he shared made a lasting impact, and that conversation ultimately solidified my decision to get into real estate.Elmer’s approach was all about grit and determination, and I try to bring that same mentality to my work today.

Bryce
Wow, that’s really interesting. I also think back to my earlier days. Have you ever had someone approach you and ask, “Hey, will you mentor me?” I really can’t stand that. It drives me crazy. It’s like, “No, show me some initiative first. Put some effort in!” It’s frustrating because they want you to pause your busy day and operations to mentor them. But mentors want to see that you’re already doing something on your own. The fact that you posted that ad on Craigslist—even though the numbers weren’t accurate—was probably why that conversation happened. It showed that you were hungry.

He could see you were trying, and that’s why he engaged with you. It’s fascinating how that mindset carries over to everything you’ve done since. You’ve built this huge network of people, borrowers, and capital. Really cool! So, my next question: In Hawaii, with the crazy property values, did you ever feel like home prices were holding you back? I know this was 5-6 years ago, and prices were still high, but Hawaii has always had a high cost of living. Did it ever stop you?

Austin
At the beginning, yes. I was on the Big Island, which is more rural, so home prices there were much lower than on other islands. Even today, you can find a decent house for $400,000 to $500,000. Back then, homes were going for $150,000 to $200,000, which was a huge amount for me. I remember seeing those price tags and thinking, “What am I doing here?” But I was fortunate to meet Elmer. He educated me about how you don’t need a huge upfront capital to buy property. I didn’t have $200,000, but Elmer taught me how to structure deals and raised private money.

He showed me that it’s possible to get into real estate without spending your own money. Elmer would raise money from high-net-worth individuals—like doctors or lawyers—and use that capital for his deals. I was shocked. He’d pay them an interest rate, but he wouldn’t come out of pocket. He was doing deals with other people’s money and profiting from it. It was a huge eye-opener for me.

Bryce
Mind-blowing, right? At first, you’re like, “What do you mean no money out of your pocket?” That’s always the big “guru” pitch—no money down, using other people’s capital. But once you’re in the game, you realize it’s pretty common. You can use seller financing, wraps, wholesaling, or private money to fund deals. With the right strategy, you don’t need much capital. It just takes time and experience to understand how to make that work.

Austin
Exactly. I was blown away when I first learned that. Then, I started realizing just how much money is actually out there. It’s not just for the ultra-wealthy; it can be family members with money sitting idle in their 401Ks. They’d be happy to earn 10-12% lending it to you instead of just 5% in their accounts.

Bryce
Exactly! Okay, so this ties into lending, which I want to dive into. I’ve noticed a trend with our guests: most start in wholesaling or rental properties, then move to flipping. After that, they realize flipping and wholesaling are tough, and they start looking for something else. That’s how I transitioned, too. I started with rentals, moved to flips, and eventually got into lending. Was there a breaking point for you in wholesaling, where you thought, “This isn’t sustainable anymore”?

Austin
It wasn’t one specific event, but a buildup over time. I did hundreds of wholesale deals, but eventually, I got burnt out. Even with acquisition agents handling seller calls, I was still exhausted. Wholesaling is great when it’s just a few deals here and there, but at scale, it becomes a grind. I didn’t enjoy the business model once it grew. At 25, I didn’t have a lot of personal funds, but I was spending $25,000 to $30,000 a month on marketing. It was a revolving door of cash, and I had constant anxiety about the fact that if I didn’t recoup that money, I’d be back at square one. That pressure got to me. I was fortunate to be around others who were scaling at a much higher level, but even they were still caught in the same grind. That’s when I decided I needed to make a change.

Bryce
That sounds incredibly stressful, especially when you’re already stretched thin. But it’s awesome that you recognized the need for change. It’s similar to what I’ve seen in the business: the excitement of deals fades when you’re constantly chasing the next one. With wholesale, the marketing spend, especially when interest rates change, can become unsustainable. So, you transitioned away from wholesaling. What made you decide to jump into lending?

Austin
I had great connections from my network and needed a shift. I wanted more recurring income, less risk, and a way to continue doing deals without that same level of constant grind. That’s when my friend Kat invited me to come over and explore lending. She saw how I could leverage my connections in the real estate space, and it felt like a natural next step.

Bryce
Got it. So, were you still in Hawaii when you started lending, or had you moved back to California by then?

Austin
By the time I got into lending, I had already moved back to California. That was around seven or eight years ago, when I started at New Western.

Bryce
Got it. I have a close friend who’s still running a huge wholesale operation, and he’s spending $25,000-$30,000 a month on marketing. He has a whole team, pays commissions, but at the end of the month, there’s not much left. He looks at us with our lending business and says, “That would be nice!” The thing is, you can do it! I ask these questions because many principles in lending are similar to flipping: When you have $1 million to lend, it sounds like a lot to the average person. But when you’re lending out $300,000 chunks at a time, it goes quickly—especially in high-cost areas like California. How was the transition from wholesaling to lending? Was it an abrupt shift, or was it more gradual, where you scaled back wholesaling and ramped up lending?

Austin
It was a pretty abrupt stop. Before moving into lending, I had actually stopped all my marketing on the wholesale side a few months prior to save money for whatever was next. Unsure of what that would be, I was done with wholesaling and no longer interested in scaling it. My focus shifted to ensuring I had capital for the next opportunity without any financial stress. This decision came a couple of months before I transitioned into lending. In wholesaling, everything was direct-to-seller and marketing-based, so I didn’t do much relationship-based business. I had a great network of buyers, service providers, and people I worked with but never really tapped into them. It was always about ad spend, find the next deal, and work directly with sellers. I never utilized my network in wholesaling, which is funny because when I started in lending, I did the opposite.

The first deals I did were through agents, word-of-mouth, and introductions from people I knew. But once I started doing ad spend, I thought it was the Holy Grail. I thought every deal had to come from ad spend since I was spending money on it, so I wanted to capitalize on it as much as possible. For the duration of my wholesale career, I didn’t use my network at all. Everything was direct through ads. So when I transitioned to lending, as you mentioned, it was a hard stop. I talked to Kat and Scott at Easy Street Capital, and they explained that lending is similar to wholesaling in some ways but is much more relationship and network-based. You’ll do more business by building relationships than hunting for deals.

That’s when I realized I needed to get organized. I didn’t have a CRM for my network, just one for sellers that I’d used for years. I had to be tactical, apply the skills I learned from wholesaling, and connect with people better. The first few weeks were spent calling everyone I’d ever done business with, letting them know I was now focusing on lending but still doing some wholesale deals. I was fortunate that most of the people I had worked with in the past were receptive because I always aimed to be honest and ethical in my business. When I told them I was lending now, many were willing to give me a shot—whether it was reviewing a deal or issuing a term sheet.

Since then, my business has completely flipped. I moved from chasing deals through ads to building relationships. My day now is much more enjoyable—talking to friends, meeting people, and helping others with their deals. I go to a lot of meetups and love this side of the business. It’s such a better experience than wholesaling.

Bryce
Agreed. It really wears you down when you deal with sellers who hang up on you or cuss you out. It’s exhausting. But now, people are coming to you because they need money instead of you constantly chasing them. It’s a fun shift. Let’s transition to Easy Street Capital. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Easy Street Capital is a huge name in the industry, right? You guys are massive. I’ve heard the name before. Are you nationwide? What’s your capital stack, how many borrowers do you have, and how many investors are involved? Give us the rundown.

Austin
Yes, we’re nationwide, except for a few states and geographic areas like the Dakotas, New York, Nevada, and Mississippi. But overall, we lend across the country. Our main products are fix and flip, DSCR rental, and ground-up construction loans. We also offer transactional funding for wholesalers who need to double-close on deals. Personally, my focus is on fix and flip, especially in Southern California, where my network is strongest. Our headquarters is in Austin, Texas, and our team there is larger than the one in California. We do a lot of business in Texas, Florida, Colorado, and California—especially given the higher prices here. Most of our loan volume is in California, as we’re dealing with million-dollar homes. So, while we’re a nationwide lender, I focus mainly on fix and flip and ground-up construction.

As for our capital, I’m not fully familiar with the details because I mainly handle loan origination. I’m still learning the ins and outs, but I can tell you that we raised over $1 billion in loans last year. We’re definitely not raising small amounts of money from personal networks. A lot of our capital comes from institutional backing. We’re not as big as some of the top lenders like Kiavi or Center Street, but we’re catching up and will likely surpass them in the next couple of years.

Bryce
I love it. The reason I ask about capital is that a lot of lenders I talk to are smaller, bootstrapped startups, with lines of credit or institutional capital. Many of the people we network with have $3 million to $40 million out in the streets, often raising capital from individual investors. So, I’m curious about how Easy Street handles that. Do you have any insight into the capital structure there?

Austin
Most of our capital is institutional, not bootstrapped or from individual investors like grandma and grandpa. Last year, we did over $1 billion in loans. You can’t raise that amount from personal networks. During the big interest rate shift caused by COVID, many lenders ran out of capital or stopped lending altogether, but we didn’t have that issue. Even some larger lenders ran out of capital and couldn’t fund loans or had significant delays. Easy Street Capital took advantage of that. We kept things running smoothly without any disruptions.

Bryce
Interesting. A lot of lenders paused or slowed down during that time, understandably, given the uncertainty of the market. Many had institutional lines of credit, but those lines got old, and some went out of business or paused temporarily. It was a scary time for everyone, not knowing what would happen when the world shut down. In hindsight, we know what happened with the real estate boom, but back then, it was a terrifying period. Do you know why Easy Street did so well during that time? Was there a specific strategy that worked, or something that contributed to their success?

Austin
I can’t tell you the exact reasons, but based on what I’ve seen, I think our leadership here is incredible. We’re a relatively young company compared to some of these other large lenders. I believe we started in 2015 or 2017. We’re not a super old company, but our leadership is excellent. They’re skilled at raising capital on the back end, which has been one of their main focuses. This ensures we’re well-capitalized and able to provide the best possible experience for investors. We can close extremely quickly, often within 48 hours on fix and flip loans. Everything is serviced in-house, including underwriting, origination, and servicing, which builds investor confidence. Our reputation is solid, and if we give a term sheet, investors know we’ll follow through. This consistency is a major factor in our success.

Bryce
That speaks volumes. I almost literally get calls every day from borrowers saying, “Hey, I had this deal locked up, but my lender just pulled funding or changed terms last minute.” You know, that happens frequently—borrowers get left hanging. But when you have that signed term sheet and a deal on the line, whether it’s a wholesale or flip, you want to make sure it closes. When people know you’re reliable and will follow through, it makes a huge difference. If they’ve had a bad experience with another lender, they won’t go back to them. They’ll come to you because they know you’ll deliver.

Austin
Absolutely. I’d say at least half of my borrowers now came to me after bad experiences with other lenders. They had a term sheet with a larger institutional lender, but the terms changed at the last minute, or they couldn’t close in time. Some had only 2 or 3 days until the closing and couldn’t get an extension. They called me, and I made the process easy for them. After seeing how smoothly it went, they haven’t reached out to those other lenders since. Now, they trust me and are willing to pay a little more because they know we’ll deliver. While we’re not the cheapest lender, we offer reliability and great service. We do things a bit more conservatively with underwriting to ensure our borrowers succeed. If they don’t succeed, they won’t come back, and that’s why we focus on making sure they do.

Bryce
That’s awesome. Now, what are your goals for 2025? What do you want to accomplish by the end of the year, both personally and for the business?

Austin
Personally, my biggest goal is to understand the lending side of the business better. I’m a big believer in learning and knowledge. I want to improve as an originator and focus on delivering the best service possible to my borrowers. If I keep providing great service, they’ll return. My main goal for this year is to educate myself so I can add more value to my clients. On the company side, we just discussed our goals at the corporate meeting last month. We’re forecasting a dramatic increase in private money loan volume, aiming for about 50% growth from last year.

There’s huge opportunity in the market, and even though we’re a large lender, I feel like we’re only scratching the surface. I think there’s a lot of potential for us to grow our DSCR business and work with more brokers. Right now, we’re focused on fix and flip loans, but there’s definitely room to expand. The market looks healthy, and I don’t foresee any major changes. We’re in a strong position to deploy more capital this year, and hopefully, we’ll double what we did last year, which would be phenomenal.

Bryce
Double your billion in originations? That’s a pretty lofty goal, but I’m confident you’ll hit it. That’s killer. Austin, thanks so much for coming on the podcast. This has been great! If anyone wants to reach out to you, how can they get in touch—whether they want to connect or get a loan through Easy Street?

Austin
Yeah, thanks again for having me. I really appreciate it. If anyone wants to reach out to me, I’m on Instagram as @austin_geiser. I use Instagram frequently for business connections. You can also find me on LinkedIn as Austin Geiser, and my email is austing@easystreetcap.com. Feel free to reach out anytime. I’m excited to connect with people, whether you’re a borrower in need of funding or just someone who wants to chat shop. I live this stuff—it’s what I do for fun. If you ask my wife, she’ll tell you I’m always on the phone, talking to people, and making new connections. Thanks again for having me on, man.

Bryce
You bet! I think our wives should start a support group for sure. My wife tells me I need to talk to someone else because she can’t hear about numbers, interest rates, extension fees, and points anymore. Her eyes just gloss over. Anyway, Austin, you’re the man. Thanks so much for being here!

Contact Austin!
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LinkedIn

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