Rental Property Investor · Member since 2020 · 36 posts · 18 votes
Hi All - Trying to collect facts here (instead of ideas/opinions) from all the people who have achieved Financial Independence. I can believe some are lucky and capable of picking the right move right from the get go but I would assume most of us would find the sweet spot through trial and error, hard work and constant education.
And this is my attempt to collect education -
Which one decision accelerated your growth the most in RE? Was it finding the right team, starting value add projects, finding the right business partners, starting syndication, simply buying a ton of SFRs, getting into lending etc
Investor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2020 · 38 posts · 57 votes
5y
Agree that house hacking is the best way to start. This is friendly on the "live under your means" mindset.
I prefer buy/hold investing in my area. For me - I would add that acquiring the second/third rental properties are important. The obvious reason - it forces you to think about scaling. If you're house hacking you're primary residence to a friend or co worker, you probably don't need to think too much about lease agreements, evictions, etc. BUT if you have 3 properties, doing tenant screening, collecting rent, etc, it forces you to think about 1) what systems/processes do I need place to support this, 2) should I hold these properties in an LLC, 3a) can I afford to hire a property manager, 3b) can I afford NOT to hire a property manager, 4) what am I doing to find my next property?
I love working with my hands and putting in sweat equity, but the reality is me wanting to work IN my business isn't effective for working ON my business. It's valuable to know the 'how', but I'm at a point where I'm more interested in the 'who's to help me operate.
Hope there's something in there that's valuable. Best of luck on your journey!
Broker · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 151 posts · 55 votes
5y
OPM. If I hadn't stubbornly wanted to do the lone wolf thing and keep doing deals on my own, I would have accelerated my portfolio much faster much earlier.
Don't overleverage. Just because the banks will lend you 120% of value, doesn't mean you should take them up on it, even if you have dreams of retiring early and this one thing might get you there. 2008 was a school of hard knocks for most people in this regard.
Seller financing more sooner. Learning that you don't have to own the property to make good money on a deal. If the yield is there, or you can be the deal maker and make a yield that's better than a hold, it's sometimes better to be the bank. Especially as you start approaching your retirement years or want to back out of the business some.
Hope this helps, happy to elaborate on any points.