Name: Kay Walker 📍Location: Charlotte, NC Background: IT Project Manager turned STR operator — built a pretty large short-term rental business across NC and GA, scaled it over almost six years, and somewhere along the way realized I'd built golden handcuffs for myself. Huge staff, huge overhead, and a business that was taking energy instead of giving it. So I burned the boats (sold a portion of it), went all in on land in 2024, and genuinely haven't looked back. Current Stage: Full operator mode — in-house direct mail (I design, print, and produce everything myself out of my Charlotte offices), taking title, doing light improvements/value add, and creative finance on the acquisition side. Creative finance in particular has been a game changer, it's opened the door to larger deals and reduced capital costs in ways that straight cash offers just can't. A big focus of Q1 this year was bringing dispositions fully in-house, and that overhaul took real energy... but it was absolutely worth it. Removing that outside dependency has eliminated so much friction, kept more money in the business, and made the whole dispo process move faster. Vertical integration is real. I'm also a licensed NC broker, which helps more than people realize. Still intentionally lean on the team side, and I like it that way (Me, local TC + part-time mail guy). I focus on mid market deals, from $40k to $600k range (market value)... My business (and small team) is extremely localized, which I think is one of my advantages. My weapon of choice: Direct Mail 💌 (always has been) 90-Day Goal: Tighten my dispo process and cut my average days on market significantly — I know it's a bottleneck and I'm locked in on solving it. Biggest Challenge Right Now: Building systems fast enough to protect my time without losing the quality control that got me here. That tension is real. What I'm Looking For: Community, honestly. I believe deeply in operating from a place of contribution — showing up to add value first, not extract it. Since jumping into land, some of the most incredible people I've ever connected with have come through this journey — especially women entrepreneurs I would have never crossed paths with otherwise. That alone has made it worth it.🥂