Up until now, I’ve been more of a private person. I usually keep my life to myself except for a random post to Instagram or me snapping a picture of Barkley for all to see. Besides that though nobody really knows that much about me besides family, close friends and a few coworkers.
The one thing I’d like to stay true to with this blog is me being honest and upfront while documenting what’s going on in my life. While I’m not going to share every single detail, there is a pretty big part of my life that I don’t always share with people. That part happens to be the investing I do in real estate.
In particular, I buy and hold real estate which simply means I buy a property with the intent of holding on to it and having others rent it. By doing so, I have tenants pay off the mortgage and after all expenses I keep the profit, usually referred to as cash flow.
WHY DO I INVEST IN REAL ESTATE?
I’ve always been a pretty big dreamer. I’ve also always believed that anyone can become what they what if they put their mind to it. Ever since I was a child I’ve wanted to have a lot of money and I’ve always felt an entrepreneurial spirit inside of me. On the downside I was also pretty shy growing up and never really wanted to put myself out there, which I’m sure you know isn’t the most ideal quality to have when wanting to start a business.
Let’s fast forward to today. I still want to have lots of money and I’ve found a way to get me there. That way is through real estate investing!
People may think that I’m greedy because I want to have so much money, but that’s not true at all.
Sure having tons of money would be awesome, but I live a pretty great life right now making $42,000 a year after taxes. I don’t invest in real estate so I can have tons of money. It is a benefit though.
Real estate can offer financial freedom. That’s the ultimate goal. To have the choice to not work a job anymore. It’s sounds wonderful to be honestly. I for one do not enjoy going into work and I shouldn’t have to work for me weekends. Financial freedom would also give me the ability to spend more time doing the things I want to do and spend more time with the people I care about such as my family and friends.
Whether I make tons of money or not through real estate it’s still important to me that I make an impact. Providing housing alone is quite an impact in my opinion but with the money I make I’ll be able to donate more to those who really need it. Also, back to the freedom part, I’ll be able to volunteer more time to the causes I’m passionate about.
HOW DID I GET STARTED IN REAL ESTATE?
Really, it was all by accident.
When I first got to Georgia for the Air Force, I had to live in the barracks for my first 9 months here. You just had to wait your turn to move out. So I waited and when I knew that I’d be more at the top of the list I started to look at houses.
I could’ve went and rented an apartment like the majority of people, but I didn’t feel like giving somebody else my money and never seeing it again. My thought process was that when I move out I’ll start collecting BAH, Basic Allowance for Housing. The rate in this area is just over $1000, so if I buy an “affordable” house I’ll actually be able to save even more money.
At that time I had at least enough knowledge to realize that by buying a house I’m not really giving my money away, but instead it just gets thrown back into the house and the loan gets paid down every month increasing my equity. That option sounded better to me so I found a house where all of the expenses combined were less than the $1000 and I started saving some money.
I then bought my first house at 21!
While I lived there I read two books that changed my life. Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and Robert Kyosakis Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Total Money Makeover helped me get my financials in order and my car paid off. Rich Dad, Poor Dad taught me how I can start building wealth, especially through real estate.
When I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, a lightbulb went off in my head and my interest was peaked. I said, “I can do that.” I just need to figure out how.
At the time I didn’t really have much money. The exact amount I had I can’t recall, but it sure wasn’t enough for a down payment for another house, so I started researching and asking around work about loans and types of loans.
I found out that you can have more than one VA loan. I called up USAA to find out if this was accurate information and they confirmed it for me. Once that was confirmed I knew I could make this all happen.
With a VA loan you have to occupy the house for a year, so I still had to fulfill that requirement, but when it got close I went ahead and got pre-qualified for my next loan and thus began my road to being a landlord.
Two years later, after purchasing my first house, I now have three of them and I’m pretty happy with what I’ve accomplished so far. What I’m happiest about the most is how early I’m starting out. I definitely have time on my side for building some serious wealth and I’m really looking forward to what the future is going to bring for me as well!