20 y/o Looking for advice

[LeRoy Beary]

Little background on me I'm a 20 year old aspiring real estate investor. I currently make around 50k a year being a hvac maintenance tech while also running a detailing business and renting out a few washer and dryers to people. I currently have around 12k in savings. I'm looking for someone who can show me the ropes of the real estate world. Im located about an hour and half north of pittsburgh. Also if anyone could just throw me some advice at all for being a young ambitious entrepreneur.

Some questions id like to ask you as well -

Where'd you start in real estate ?

How'd you start in real estate ?

What got you into it ?

How much money did you start with ?

What habits helped you early on or what kept you motivated ?

whats one small step I should take next ?

[Jeremy Taggart]

@LeRoy Beary I started at 22 right out of college with a negative net worth and now I'm 32 and work optional becuase I did all the right things from then until now. Living in the Pittsburgh area is a cheat code to get ahead financially when you are young because of the affordability and housing market.   

Some advice that comes to mind I would give to myself first starting out:

House hack as soon as you can and do it as many times as you can. Do one each year. Being in a cheaper market you should be able to have your entire housing payment covered and live in your own apartment through 2-4 unit buildings. You could literally only just do this investing wise and be a multi millionaire come normal retirement age with a paid off portfolio (by the tenants) providing significant cash flow to live off.

Live below your means. Don't let lifestyle inflation creep in. Do this for your 20s then from your 30's on you can basically spend money on whatever you want since your investments/business will make more than you can realistically spend if you do it right. Don't get a fancy car with a high payment. If you go out to eat keep it minimal and cheaper restaurants. Don't go on vacations all the time. You can do plenty of that once you hit your 30s and on. I didn't take hardly any vacations at all in my 20s and in my early 30s I hit over 30 national parks within a 3 year time period because I set things up to allow me to do that.

Read as many books and listen to as many podcasts on RE investing/business/finance/personal development as you can. Success leaves clues and the information is all out there. Make it a habit and don't miss on it. I like to read first thing in the morning before I go to the gym to make sure it happens everyday. Waking up early was huge for me at the beginning. 

Find a way to get ownership (equity) or an active income source with no ceiling. Your 20s are the best time to put in longer hours and get ahead versus waiting until you are older and have a family and other obligations. W2 jobs are cool but offer limited upside. I got into RE sales early on and within a few years made way more money than I ever would have been able to with a w2 job. Living lean allowed me to go into a high upside 100% commission job though. Most people can't take advantage of that because they need the steady income to cover their inflated lifestyle.

Utilize OPM (other people's money) to do BRRRR deals. Leverage (when used smartly) is your friend when you are building and if you learn how to find good deals you can build additional equity on top of the house hacks without needing a ton of your own cash if you do it right. When you combine those with house hacks you can have a pretty nice portfolio by the end of your 20s.

Hopefully that helps!