Robert Howell 0:02

Welcome to the Purpose-Driven Investor, where we build more than portfolios, we build communities. I'm your host, Robert Howell, a real estate investor and founder of Define Communities. Each week we'll explore how purpose and profit connect through affordable housing, land home packages, and impact-driven investing. If you're a lender, land seller, or a partner who believes money should move. With meaning, you're in the right place. And I'm really excited about this one. I think Candius is going to share a lot of great insights, especially for those that have a job but also are investing in real estate. So welcome to the show, Candius. Thank you for having me, Robert. I really appreciate it. All right. Well, cool. Well, let's get started. I'm going to do a quick intro. Um, and um you feel free to add anything you want to add. But um can Candius has a has a full-time job, but she also invests in real estate. She's focused on creating generational wealth uh for her and her family. She's very passionate about helping families achieve home ownership, and I've seen that personally. Um and she's building a business not only for profit, but really with a purpose. So to start here, Candius, and a lot of people are meeting you for the very first time. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to get into real estate investing?

Candius Welborn 1:42

Well, my name is Candius. Um I currently reside in uh Pickens County, South Carolina. And um, as Robert stated, I I work full-time. I have a full-time job, have been full-time for the past 16 years. Um, very happy with my job. Uh and just here recent, uh 2025, I embarked on a journey to create generational wealth and affordable housing to those that were that just think it's impossible to um own their own home. And I stepped out on faith uh basically um in trying to navigate through that and see what it what it looks like. Um uh for me, I started out with rentals and right right now I have about five rentals. Um Muskiow, that's awesome. Yeah. Um Pickens County and Anderson and Um Greenville as well. Um, so I have a couple of rentals and I started out renting. And throughout my journey with renting, I found that many people are also interested in home ownership. And I wanted to be that one-stop shop for someone that's looking either if you're still looking to rent, I can certainly help you with that. But if you're looking to own your own home and and um create generational wealth for for you, your family, your kids, or what have you, I want to be able to have um make that happen for you as well. So that's when I started my journey um into um creating home ownership for those um that were looking to start home ownership.

Robert Howell 3:30

That's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, I think the first time we met was what like three years ago, maybe. Um and you were I think you had owned a couple rentals maybe and you're just starting to buy some more.

Candius Welborn 3:42

Yep. That was that was um that wasn't done but God because uh that was uh when I met you, it was during that time frame. I think I even purchased a rental from you. That's right. When I met you, I was just at my crossroad, and and I was telling you my plan, my vision, and you spoke life into me. I'll never forget it. And you were like, you can do it, you can do it. And I'm like, this is coming from someone that's never met me before, um, and speaking life into me. And I was like, Yeah, I can do it. And so I took that leap out on faith, and here I am.

Robert Howell 4:26

That's huge. Not that long after it. Now you're investing in more rentals, and uh you're you're doing some development and building houses for people, which is cool. So um let's talk about your why. So why uh what what really in uh got you interested in real estate?

Candius Welborn 4:45

So what got me interested in real estate was um growing up, I'm seeing family, seeing friends, and and just individuals that's that was looking for home ownership, but didn't have the resources or didn't know the resources or what was out there for them uh to help them to get where they needed to be for their family. And I I want to be that change. I want to bridge that gap for them and and show them that home ownership is possible. Um and here I am helping people to um not only create generational wealth, but also um building land home package deals for for those that's looking for home ownership and affordable, might I add, um, affordable home ownership as well. So my why was to bridge the gap and and help those that thought that it was just impossible. The impossible is always possible.

Robert Howell 5:51

Yeah, that's great. So as you think about, I don't know, five, maybe even ten years ago, um, if you could go and talk to yourself and you're sitting there five years ago, 10 10 years ago, what advice would you give to yourself? Stay the course.

Candius Welborn 6:08

There's gonna be a time, there's gonna be times where you feel like why am I trying to do this? Why what's the purpose? Stay the course. Stay the course because eventually you will see that light at the end of the tunnel that uh is going to give you that reasoning as to why you started and why you need to keep moving forward.

Robert Howell 6:36

Love it. That's great. And there's a lot of people listening probably that were in that same position you were in five years ago when you were just getting started. What were some of the biggest fears that you had when you got started? Some of the biggest fears I had was uh, of course, funding.

Candius Welborn 6:56

Um had no idea where I would get funding for all this. Um, and then also um another one of my biggest fears was um finding reliable contractors that was willing to work with me or what have you. Um and I guess another fear of mine was just being not being as knowledgeable as I wanted to be. And all of these things played a huge factor into why I waited a year and a half to actually launch and talk about what I'm doing now because I wanted to make sure that every single box was checked as far as my fear. Now I have the funding to move forward. I gathered that information to help me to get funding to move forward so I can get these projects developed for people that's looking for homeownership. Love it.

Robert Howell 7:59

How'd you overcome um that uncertainty, that self-doubt? What was that that moment that that clicked and you said, okay, we're just gonna go do it?

Candius Welborn 8:11

That uncertainty of how did I overcome it? Yeah. Yeah. Prayer. Okay. Prayer. Prayer and a lot of planning. Um one thing uh uh about me, I'm very faith-driven and I feel as without God, I nothing's possible without him. Um so I let him lead me. I let him lead me. And in him leading me is how I knew how to take my next steps and what I needed to do moving forward. But in doing so, I had to meet him halfway. And that's where I came into play with uh creating um partnerships with different people, like-minded individuals that was doing the same thing that I was doing. Um, of course, joining the land home league that gave me a lot of different um information that I needed to move forward. Meeting you that was in God's plan. So, I mean, it's just about faith and walking into that moment.

Robert Howell 9:23

And imagine even today with more information than you obviously had when you started, it's still you still have to follow that faith, right? And that trust in God. Because there are days, you know, for me, it's there are days when it's harder, right? And it's like, man, how do I get out of this rut? How do I what direction do I need to go? And I I love that you look to God and say, show me the way, right? Indy, indeed. Um all right, so clearly money is is important, but um it sounds like you've got a a lot more important things than money. Um, so tell us what success looks like beyond just making money. Wow.

Candius Welborn 10:05

Um, what success looks like. That is basically um for me, um, success is actually helping a family that's wanting to be into home ownership to get that home. Um I I have many resources now where I can assist someone that's looking for home ownership, affordable home ownership to make that happen. And it's nothing like um seeing a kid just go crazy over having their own room or um a mother being able to afford uh a home now for their for her kids or what have you. So those things give me uh give me purpose in moving forward in what I'm doing.

Robert Howell 10:54

That's awesome. That's so true. I I remember selling a home to just like three or four months ago to a lady she was divorced and she was a school bus driver, older, probably in her 60s, and you know, she told me I never thought I'd be able to own a home again. And um, she'd been living in an apartment for a couple years. But for her, it was hey, now I can have a room for my grandkids to come over and stay with me and hang out with me. And um, you know, hearing hearing stories like that really makes you think, man, this is this is really powerful what we can do every single day.

Candius Welborn 11:31

Exactly, exactly. It looked like I said, it's all about bridging the gap.

Robert Howell 11:37

Yep, yep. All right, let's talk about new investors. Um so what what's one thing um or one mistake, sorry, that you see beginners making that you wish they weren't making?

Candius Welborn 11:52

New investors. Um I guess speaking from experience, um I would probably say we definitely um gosh, Robert. Um What do you think?

Robert Howell 12:11

Like, what's one thing that's like you know, maybe in your one of your first rentals where you're like, man, I wish I would have probably checked that a little closer. Um hopefully it wasn't the house I sold you.

Candius Welborn 12:23

No, definitely not. Definitely not. Um I guess I would start with my uh my first uh I did a fix and flip. Um it was my first one I've ever done. And I wish that I would have actually got more um insight, more information as far as what I was getting into as far as the house may go. Um sometimes with a fix and flip, you never know what's underlining until you actually get in there. And I purchased a home sight unseen. I didn't go out there, I didn't look at it. First mistake. First mistake. Always look at it, right? Always look at it, always go and put your eyes on what you're getting so you can see those underlining things that well, maybe will kill your deal. Um, and and so I made that mistake in purchasing something sight unseen, and I will never ever do that again. Uh it just a bad practice on my end.

Robert Howell 13:37

But you're living there. Yeah, and you know, a lot of times you get in a rush and you think, oh, it's you you you get this deal and you think, man, it's such a great price. I gotta move forward before anybody else, and then you know, come to find out there's things that you if you went on site, you you would have seen, right? Exactly, exactly. Um so you've you've got a full-time job and you're doing this on the side on the evenings and weekends. Um and this is the way I started. So when I started in real estate, I owned a roofing company, and that was really my day job. And so I really only had nights and weekends to to really get started. But if someone's listening and they only had evenings and they only have weekends to invest, where do you think they should begin? Like, what's the first action that they should take?

Candius Welborn 14:27

Um, the first action that you should take is pretty much setting that time aside to where you can actually learn more about your craft and what you're trying to do moving forward. Um, because of course, you your day job is there. Uh it's there, and that's going to happen like clockwork every single day. But you have to figure out time um once you get off work for family, of course, um, and also time to dive in to what you're trying to do as far as your purpose. And and that's what I did. Um, on my time off, um, I would take a I would take a day and a couple hours to myself, and I would plan and I would teach and and educate myself on different avenues of where um I could assist those that's looking for home ownership, but also give them the information um as well, correct information. So you want to be very well-rounded. Um, but it's all about education. It's all about education and putting that time aside.

Robert Howell 15:37

Love it. Yep. Okay, learn it first and then then go from there. All right. So let's look at looking ahead and kind of where you see yourself in the future. So if you think about five years from now, where do you want to be um from an investing standpoint? What what do you think that looks like?

Candius Welborn 15:54

Oh, five years from now, I'm still gonna be working and I'm still gonna be investing part-time on the side. Um however, um, five years from now, I'm I'm looking to have um more properties that I can actually develop and help those looking for home ownership and generational wealth. So um within the five-year mark, I'm looking to do at least um about I want to do at least by myself, considering I'm kind of new at the home ownership thing right now. I want to do at least two, maybe three a year. So if I'm looking at five years down the road, I would say about anywhere from 10 to 15. I want to have developed and families into these homes.

Robert Howell 16:44

That's huge. That's huge. I mean, that's 15 families that have been impacted. And I mean, clearly you're making some profit from it too. So uh that'll be good to put away in the nest egg and uh accelerate your retirement or just make it uh a better retirement, right?

Candius Welborn 17:01

Definitely accelerate. Accelerate my retirement for sure. Um making it better is always a great thing. Um yeah, definitely want to plan for the future for sure. And this is another notch up under my belt to help me do so. The the great thing about home ownership though, Robert, is that everybody wins. Everybody wins. That person that's looking to get that home that they thought they could never afford, they're able to get it. Yeah, that person that's developing is able to help someone that thought they would never get a home, has that satisfaction of knowing I I helped this person get this home, you know? So everybody wins. It's always a win-win situation, and that's what I love about it. True. That's true.

Robert Howell 17:52

All right, so as we close out here, uh a couple questions for you. Just rapid fire. Um what's one habit that has changed your life?

Candius Welborn 18:04

One habit that has changed my life. Oh wow. I would say um consistency as well as creating um valuable partnerships um with like-minded individuals that's looking to do the same thing that I'm doing.

Robert Howell 18:26

That's great. That's great. Yeah, relationships are huge. Um helps to compound what you're doing. All right, uh, last question here. What's your favorite book? My favorite book? Yeah.

Candius Welborn 18:40

I don't think I have a favorite book.

Robert Howell 18:43

All right. Any books that you've read uh that that made an impact on real estate?

Candius Welborn 18:51

No, not any books.

Robert Howell 18:52

All right, let's go. Have you read Rich Dad Portad?

Candius Welborn 18:56

I haven't.

Robert Howell 18:56

Maybe I should. When do you get Rich Dad Portad for you? It's a great book. So when I asked that question, a lot of real estate investors that I talked to, and um you know, I would tell you probably 75% of investors that I talk to, when you ask them what their favorite book is or what book had the greatest impact, is Rich Dad Portad. Um so I'd I'd definitely encourage you to take a look at that. Who's the author? Uh Robert uh Kisaki.

Candius Welborn 19:24

Okay.

Robert Howell 19:24

Okay. I'll have to look that up for sure. All right. Well, cool. So uh if somebody wants to reach out to you, where can they connect to you with you?

Candius Welborn 19:33

So um I have several ways where you can connect with me. I am on social media, uh Facebook. Um, my name is spelled a little different. It's C-A-N-D-I-U-S, the wellborn, W-E-L-B-O-R-N. Um, you can look me up on Facebook. You can also reach me, um, uh email as well, uh cwellborn02 at gmail.com. Or by all means, uh give me a phone call. I'm always willing to jump on a phone call with anyone that's interested in learning more um about home ownership. Um my phone number is 864-386-9036.

Robert Howell 20:17

That's awesome. Well, Candius, thanks for sharing your story. Reminding us that real estate really is more than just properties. It's about creating opportunities, building families' futures, and leaving a legacy. Uh, I really appreciate you being here.

Candius Welborn 20:31

Of course. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.

Robert Howell 20:35

All right. Well, for everyone listening, if you enjoyed the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone that needs encouragement to take that first step. And we'll see you on the next Purpose-Driven Investor Podcast. Thanks for listening to the Purpose-Driven Investor. If today's episode sparked an idea or inspired you to make an impact, connect with me at howlandsons.com. Join our community of purpose-driven investors who are helping families find stable homes while building real returns. Because when we invest with purpose, everyone wins.