I Just Started Out My Real Estate Journey, Here's My Story.

[Danny M.]

Hi, my name's Danny, I'm 25, and I live in Royal Oak Michigan. I finished reading Set For Life last week and it opened my eyes to the world of real estate, and I think I'm hooked now. I want to use this post to introduce myself to the community here on Bigger Pockets and tell my story. 

I make about ~$60-75K/year (bonus dependent) as a market research analyst focused primarily on the regulated US online gambling industry. I have been implementing a lot of money-saving strategies (from part I of Set For Life) for a few years, even before I read the book. This has left me with about ~$80K real net worth mostly in weighted index funds and money market funds. A little over half of that money is in a Roth IRA. I am working towards the personal finance goal of having $100K in real net worth within the next 8 months.

As I see it I am currently in a learning phase of my real estate journey. I am currently listening to the How To Invest In Real Estate audiobook, and taking notes. After that, I have created a pseudo-real estate course for myself which will consist of reading the following books: Rich Dad Poor Dad, The 4 Hour Work Week, The Richest Man In Babylon, The House Hacking Strategy, The Multifamily Millionaire vol. 1 & 2, and Buy Rehab Rent Refinance Repeat. With the goal of getting all these books read asap. Spending at least 30 minutes a day reading. part of my course plan is to do research on financing to determine how I will buy, and research in different markets to determine where I will buy (I work remotely and could live anywhere in the US, not planning on doing long-distance real estate for my first property). While I complete my course I will start building my real estate team and evaluating properties. My goal is to acquire my first property by July 2025. With the stretch goal being to acquire a property by the end of 2024. 

I plan to spend a total of 8 months doing research. While I am doing this research I will be working (remote) full-time and traveling. I am going to be vacating my apartment and selling my car in the next 2 months, and then I will spend 2 months living with friends and family, 1 month staying at an Airbnb in Hawaii, and the rest of the time traveling around South America. I am attempting to do all of this and save more money than I can living in Royal Oak Michigan. Running the numbers looks promising. 

The real estate strategies that have been resonating with me so far are house hacking, multi-family buildings, and the BRRR method. My current ideas are to buy either a triplex or quadplex and live in one unit while renovating it and rent out the others for a couple of years before flipping the property. I am also considering a live-in flip on a large single-family home, and possibly renting out some rooms during the renovation if I can find friends or tenants willing to put up with the renovation (I don't like the uncertainty of the cash flow in that scenario if I can't find tenants). I figure the single-family strategy will have more advantageous tax benefits to flipping, and I can flip it more quickly, possibly in just a year and a half. This would allow me to get into a bigger, more valuable property faster. However, I am keeping an open mind to all kinds of real estate investing as I learn more about it. If anyone has any thoughts on either of these strategies for a first-time real estate buyer please share them with me.

Lastly, if there is anyone in Royal Oak Michigan, or the surrounding area, who is interested in getting a real estate club going (I just need one more person, two's a club!), or anyone interested in just chatting about all things real estate and beyond, please reach out to me! I would love to hear from you. Thanks, everyone. Have a wonderful day. 

-Danny

[Nathan Gesner]

The money you spend on your Hawaii trip would be a down payment for a house. Then you're going to travel South America for five months? 

is Dave Ramsey says, if you want to live like no one else later, then you have to live like no one else now.

[Michael Smythe]

@Danny M. your work background shows in your systematic approach.

You should also set yourself a deadline for buying a rental.

For local clubs, check out REIAofOakland, MREI & Renegade Detroit Investors.

Regarding your plans, great approach for first 1-2 properties, but then you'll have scaling challenges.

[Danny M.]

Quote from @Michael Smythe:

@Danny M. your work background shows in your systematic approach.

You should also set yourself a deadline for buying a rental.

For local clubs, check out REIAofOakland, MREI & Renegade Detroit Investors.

Regarding your plans, great approach for first 1-2 properties, but then you'll have scaling challenges.

 Thanks Michael, I appreciate the information. I will look into those groups, determine a specific deadline, and start thinking about a scalable approach to investing for my 2nd-3rd property and beyond! 

[Danny M.]

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

The money you spend on your Hawaii trip would be a down payment for a house. Then you're going to travel South America for five months? 

is Dave Ramsey says, if you want to live like no one else later, then you have to live like no one else now.

Hi Nathan, I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me. 

I follow the spending advice in Set For Life and How To Invest In Real Estate, which is (paraphrased heavily by me) as follows: Don't forgo spending money on things that you really want, just know the costs. I am aware that I am delaying my financial freedom with every dollar I spend on travel, and I'm okay with that. 

I'd rather travel now when I'm young than achieve financial freedom a few years earlier. This is because if I achieve financial freedom, the first thing I would do with that freedom is travel! Also, once I buy a property I am prepared for that to consume a lot of my free time for a little while, so I want to travel now while I have time for it. 

Hawaii will be expensive, but I should still be able to manage to save a couple of hundred dollars that month, which is a big win in my book.

South America is an opportunity to save money, not lose it. The cost of living is lower in South American countries, so I will actually be saving a higher percentage of my take-home pay there (even with travel costs) than I am currently living in the US. 

[Andrew Olmstead]

Danny , congrats on getting off to a great start financially and being focused. For a young guy that can put in some work I love the FHA househack on the fixer Plex units. Btw, have a great time traveling. I live in Hawaii, and it's not much more expensive to travel around than the mainland if you get reasonable accommodation. Heck, it's not even that much to get here. Its $300 one way from Detroit. Then, from Honolulu to Bogota $300 one way. S. America can be inexpensive . Anyway, love your plan, Carpe Diem!

[Jamiel Strickland]

Quote from @Danny M.:

Hi, my name's Danny, I'm 25, and I live in Royal Oak Michigan. I finished reading Set For Life last week and it opened my eyes to the world of real estate, and I think I'm hooked now. I want to use this post to introduce myself to the community here on Bigger Pockets and tell my story. 

I make about ~$60-75K/year (bonus dependent) as a market research analyst focused primarily on the regulated US online gambling industry. I have been implementing a lot of money-saving strategies (from part I of Set For Life) for a few years, even before I read the book. This has left me with about ~$80K real net worth mostly in weighted index funds and money market funds. A little over half of that money is in a Roth IRA. I am working towards the personal finance goal of having $100K in real net worth within the next 8 months.

As I see it I am currently in a learning phase of my real estate journey. I am currently listening to the How To Invest In Real Estate audiobook, and taking notes. After that, I have created a pseudo-real estate course for myself which will consist of reading the following books: Rich Dad Poor Dad, The 4 Hour Work Week, The Richest Man In Babylon, The House Hacking Strategy, The Multifamily Millionaire vol. 1 & 2, and Buy Rehab Rent Refinance Repeat. With the goal of getting all these books read asap. Spending at least 30 minutes a day reading. part of my course plan is to do research on financing to determine how I will buy, and research in different markets to determine where I will buy (I work remotely and could live anywhere in the US, not planning on doing long-distance real estate for my first property). While I complete my course I will start building my real estate team and evaluating properties. My goal is to acquire my first property by July 2025. With the stretch goal being to acquire a property by the end of 2024. 

I plan to spend a total of 8 months doing research. While I am doing this research I will be working (remote) full-time and traveling. I am going to be vacating my apartment and selling my car in the next 2 months, and then I will spend 2 months living with friends and family, 1 month staying at an Airbnb in Hawaii, and the rest of the time traveling around South America. I am attempting to do all of this and save more money than I can living in Royal Oak Michigan. Running the numbers looks promising. 

The real estate strategies that have been resonating with me so far are house hacking, multi-family buildings, and the BRRR method. My current ideas are to buy either a triplex or quadplex and live in one unit while renovating it and rent out the others for a couple of years before flipping the property. I am also considering a live-in flip on a large single-family home, and possibly renting out some rooms during the renovation if I can find friends or tenants willing to put up with the renovation (I don't like the uncertainty of the cash flow in that scenario if I can't find tenants). I figure the single-family strategy will have more advantageous tax benefits to flipping, and I can flip it more quickly, possibly in just a year and a half. This would allow me to get into a bigger, more valuable property faster. However, I am keeping an open mind to all kinds of real estate investing as I learn more about it. If anyone has any thoughts on either of these strategies for a first-time real estate buyer please share them with me.

Lastly, if there is anyone in Royal Oak Michigan, or the surrounding area, who is interested in getting a real estate club going (I just need one more person, two's a club!), or anyone interested in just chatting about all things real estate and beyond, please reach out to me! I would love to hear from you. Thanks, everyone. Have a wonderful day. 

-Danny

 Hey I am part owner of a 52-unit multi family in Royal Oak. Love the area and use to work in the area. Now I am in Detroit but always open to meeting new people. I have a meet up already but be down to collab somehow or just talk real estate! (Yes, I can talk real estate all day lol) 

[Ken P.]

@Danny M. just checking in to see how things are proceeding on your plans.  The 8 month time frame you gave yourself for education and saving prior to investing is coming to a close soon. Have you decided on your first RE move? 

It's snowing here in metro Detroit today, and more is expected over the next few days, so stay there in South America a little while longer if you want to completely avoid this winter.

[Danny M.]

@ken 

@Ken P. I appreciate you keeping me honest Ken! I am happy to say I am currently on the back half of The House Hacking Strategy by Craig Curelop. I have read all the previous books on my list. I am a little behind my book schedule because I read a novel and The Psychology of Money after I finished The Richest Man in Babylon. 

I have decided on a Multifamily property in the Royal Oak, Clawson, or Ferndale area. I have found a great RE agent and lender through Bigger Pockets. Currently, I am working on completing my pre-approval application, and I hope to have my pre-approval letter by next week. I am planning to use the new 5% down loan on multifamilies. I am practicing evaluating properties online, and I have secured renting a month-month room from a friend for when I return to Royal Oak in April. I am pending joining the Metro Detroit RE investors group and the Renegade Investors on Facebook. I hope to attend meetings in person when I return to Michigan. 

I am writing this from Buenos Aires Argentina. My travels to Hawaii in November, Peru and Chile in January and now here have all been very successful, and I have managed to save a good chunk of my income, while traveling, each month (although the only reason I was able to save money in November when I was in Hawaii is because of a timely bonus from that I spent very little of —man that place is expensive). I also flew to London from Chile last week for a productive work trip and conference that was free for me thanks to my employer. I do not recommend that flight as it is 14 hours lol. I head to Florianopolis Brazil on March 10th, then back to Michigan at the end of March. I am hoping the weather in metro Detroit has changed for the better by then, but April is always unpredictable. 

Best, 
-Danny

[Danny M.]

Quote from @Jamiel Strickland:

Quote from @Danny M.:

Hi, my name's Danny, I'm 25, and I live in Royal Oak Michigan. I finished reading Set For Life last week and it opened my eyes to the world of real estate, and I think I'm hooked now. I want to use this post to introduce myself to the community here on Bigger Pockets and tell my story. 

I make about ~$60-75K/year (bonus dependent) as a market research analyst focused primarily on the regulated US online gambling industry. I have been implementing a lot of money-saving strategies (from part I of Set For Life) for a few years, even before I read the book. This has left me with about ~$80K real net worth mostly in weighted index funds and money market funds. A little over half of that money is in a Roth IRA. I am working towards the personal finance goal of having $100K in real net worth within the next 8 months.

As I see it I am currently in a learning phase of my real estate journey. I am currently listening to the How To Invest In Real Estate audiobook, and taking notes. After that, I have created a pseudo-real estate course for myself which will consist of reading the following books: Rich Dad Poor Dad, The 4 Hour Work Week, The Richest Man In Babylon, The House Hacking Strategy, The Multifamily Millionaire vol. 1 & 2, and Buy Rehab Rent Refinance Repeat. With the goal of getting all these books read asap. Spending at least 30 minutes a day reading. part of my course plan is to do research on financing to determine how I will buy, and research in different markets to determine where I will buy (I work remotely and could live anywhere in the US, not planning on doing long-distance real estate for my first property). While I complete my course I will start building my real estate team and evaluating properties. My goal is to acquire my first property by July 2025. With the stretch goal being to acquire a property by the end of 2024. 

I plan to spend a total of 8 months doing research. While I am doing this research I will be working (remote) full-time and traveling. I am going to be vacating my apartment and selling my car in the next 2 months, and then I will spend 2 months living with friends and family, 1 month staying at an Airbnb in Hawaii, and the rest of the time traveling around South America. I am attempting to do all of this and save more money than I can living in Royal Oak Michigan. Running the numbers looks promising. 

The real estate strategies that have been resonating with me so far are house hacking, multi-family buildings, and the BRRR method. My current ideas are to buy either a triplex or quadplex and live in one unit while renovating it and rent out the others for a couple of years before flipping the property. I am also considering a live-in flip on a large single-family home, and possibly renting out some rooms during the renovation if I can find friends or tenants willing to put up with the renovation (I don't like the uncertainty of the cash flow in that scenario if I can't find tenants). I figure the single-family strategy will have more advantageous tax benefits to flipping, and I can flip it more quickly, possibly in just a year and a half. This would allow me to get into a bigger, more valuable property faster. However, I am keeping an open mind to all kinds of real estate investing as I learn more about it. If anyone has any thoughts on either of these strategies for a first-time real estate buyer please share them with me.

Lastly, if there is anyone in Royal Oak Michigan, or the surrounding area, who is interested in getting a real estate club going (I just need one more person, two's a club!), or anyone interested in just chatting about all things real estate and beyond, please reach out to me! I would love to hear from you. Thanks, everyone. Have a wonderful day. 

-Danny

 Hey I am part owner of a 52-unit multi family in Royal Oak. Love the area and use to work in the area. Now I am in Detroit but always open to meeting new people. I have a meet up already but be down to collab somehow or just talk real estate! (Yes, I can talk real estate all day lol) 

 Hi Jamiel, sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I would love to grab a coffee when I am back in Royal Oak in April or chat about real estate anytime. I am sure you have some great insights on that market!

[Danny M.]

Quote from @Andrew Olmstead:

Danny , congrats on getting off to a great start financially and being focused. For a young guy that can put in some work I love the FHA househack on the fixer Plex units. Btw, have a great time traveling. I live in Hawaii, and it's not much more expensive to travel around than the mainland if you get reasonable accommodation. Heck, it's not even that much to get here. Its $300 one way from Detroit. Then, from Honolulu to Bogota $300 one way. S. America can be inexpensive . Anyway, love your plan, Carpe Diem!

Sorry for the late reaply, but thank you for the encouragement Andrew! Hawaii was amazing. I tried to keep it as cheap as possible, but it was a bit more of a challenge there than it is here in Buenos Aires where I am currently writing from (especially with so much delicious poke around). I am planning on going with the 5% down multifamily loan that came out in November, though if that had not come out I probably would have gone with a 3.5% down FHA for my house hack. Have a great day.