What is your ideal investment journey?

Question

If you had to do it all over again with all the knowledge you have now, what would your journey look like. I'm a 16 year old kid really interested and I want to know what others would do if they're starting over. Would you buy and hold? Live and flip for a few years? BRRRR with MFH while also house hacking them?
What would you do?

Joey Banasihan · Answer

Hey @Luke Mertz - sorry I missed your reply!  Every year is ideal, but as you start accumulating properties banks like to start seeing certain cash reserves on-hand as you start acquiring more depth. That is the goal but to start off I like to be conservative with 2-3 years.

The next question to ask yourself is why 30+ rentals?  Depending on which market you invest in and what you invest in, you do not need a ton of rentals to create financial flexibility and freedom. I have 4 rental doors and they pay for our entire mortgage, thats $2-$3k we no longer have to worry about and get to reinvest or use elsewhere.

I would be keep real estate as the long-term goal but focus on getting into an industry, career, business where you are learning high value skills that you are being paid for the value (problem solving) you give rather than the time you put in.

Jaron Walling · Answer

@Luke Mertz I just wrote a post that brought back memories from 2018 when I bought my first house which now a LTR.

If I could go back I would have networked a little more, talked to more investors, and bought a little more aggressively. I only got two deals under my belt before the pandemic (conservative investing), but I could have bought more if I asked the right questions to the right people. Post pandemic and in this higher interest rate climate it's been hard to BRRRR. We continue to buy distressed SF opportunities, but the numbers are slim compared to 2018-2022.

Aaron Zimmerman · Answer

House hack as many multi families as possible. It is Probably one of the best investments you can make assuming the numbers pencil. So many advantages and relatively lower risk in my opinion

Luke Mertz · Answer

@Cliff Benner What draws you to commercial real estate over continuing to invest in flips?

Luke Mertz · Answer

@Joey Banasihan Thanks for the info! Would it be better to house hack every year rather than every 2-3 years? My thinking is if you just house hacked a triplex or fourplex every year then after 5-10 years you could have 30+ units. I'm not sure how feasible that is of happening but would you take that route?

Joey Banasihan · Answer

Hey @Luke Mertz - Good question - though so much of it depends on your area, market, leverage etc,If I had to start over, I’d still be house hacking—putting as little down as possible, living in the property, and using my money on renovations and value-add stuff that actually builds equity. I’d probably repeat that every 2–3 years.

At the same time, I’d be focused on building high-value skills—sales, tech, whatever gives me leverage—to increase how much money I’m bringing in. That way, I can pour more into real estate while still living way below my means.

No secrets, no shortcuts, nothing sexy. Just consistent moves, learning as I go, and playing the long game. It’s not flashy, but it works.