MEET OUR TEAM OF CARDS (BUBBLE GUM NOT INCLUDED)
MATT ATKINSON
FOUNDER & CEO
Matt Atkinson is a self-described “real estate investing and personal development addict”. If he’s not expanding his personal portfolio or tuning his approach by studying with some of the world’s legendary Life and Business strategists, he’s leveraging those skills to help others achieve maximum personal and professional success as founder of MJA REAL Consulting. Matt’s holistic approach to development is renowned both nationally and locally in Utah, the place he calls home and the playground he’s developed into a comprehensive real estate power portfolio.
Matt started his career in real estate 22 years ago as a mortgage professional, a role he still flourishes in today, and has been investing for the last 20 years. He purchased his first investment property in 2004, a single-family home through a short sale, which is a rental unit he still owns today. However, he over-improved the property, spent too much money on the renovation, and mismanaged his tenants. Throughout this process he learned the struggle of having a full-time job and being a landlord, and how to effectively utilize other industry professionals to improve his investing. Matt credits this experience with getting him addicted to local real estate investing and now owns over $27 million in rental properties both personally and with partners.
Matt has accumulated over 30,000 hours of experience – over 7 years round the clock – and has personally invested over $1.87 million dollars in rehabbing rental properties since 2004, and an additional $4.55 million on flip properties since 2008. After making only $500 on his first flip project, he reevaluated the strategies others were using and learned how to effectively buy the property, get the most bang for his buck during the remodel, and how to price the home for the quickest and most profitable return.
Helping others thrive is where the REAL satisfaction comes from - Matt has focused consulting on a local level with his expertise ranging from rentals, land lording, hard money lending, fixing and flipping, assignments and building wealth as an investor. He has served as the President of the Utah Valley Real Estate Investors Association (UVREIA) for 9 years, a member of the Salt Lake Real Estate Investors Association (SLREIA) for 16 years, a member of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) for 9 years, and is a member of the Utah Association of Mortgage Professionals (UAMP) for the last 9 years.
Matt is an extremely grateful husband to Edie and proud father of his two boys, Matthew and Walker along with step-daughter, Jocelyn, step-son Marcus, and granddaughter, Stella!
LEILANI COLE
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Leilani began working with Matt Atkinson in 2006 while earning her bachelor’s degree from BYU. She initially assisted with developing an organized system for rental properties (what Matt loosely called ‘property management’) and later began working with investors who wanted to create real estate portfolios with rental properties and create wealth by flipping properties.
As a real estate agent since 2008 and later real estate broker, she is skilled in identifying properties that will create both active and passive income for investors and helping them increase their real estate knowledge and experience. During her time as a licensed realtor she has closed over $34M in real estate transactions as both a buying and listing agent and has experience with both conventional and non-traditional financing options. These transactions have ranged from short sales, seller-financed options, bank-owned, and distressed properties to short-term flip properties. She currently the broker at MJA REAL Estate.
Lani assists with MJA training programs and has contributed to curriculum and presentations for seminars, workshops, and boot camps. In her free time she enjoys hiking, traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband, daughter and son.
KRISTIN HACKING
LEAD PROPERTY MANAGER & REAL ESTATE AGENT
Kristin Hacking was born and raised in Vernal, Utah. She moved to the big city in 2006 to fulfill a full-ride softball scholarship at Salt Lake Community College.
Kristin is the epitome of a Property Management Professional. Accumulating 12 years of Management experience, she specializes in managing both single family and multi-family portfolios, all while bringing on new owners into management. Kristin has gained valuable experience and knowledge being an active part of groups such as UVREIA, NARPM, The Utah Apartment Associations and holds a Utah Professional Rental Operator Designation. Kristin has served on the board of UVREIA for going on her 3rd year.
Kristin has been a member of the MJA Real Group team since 2019. Kristin also holds an active real estate license since 2015 and specializes in selling tenant occupied homes, assisting in acquiring additional rental income properties for investors, and analyzing rentals for the best possible cash flow. Since joining the MJA team, Kristin has built and will continue to build a property management team that stands out in the market, building true investment portfolios.
When not working she enjoys spending time in the mountains camping with her family, visiting Disneyland, or any beach destination. Her biggest goal for 2024 is to give back to those who are tackling property management on their own, "I want to be a resource, I want to help, I want to elevate us all in this industry that I love so much."