Rental Property Investor · Phila, PA · Member since 2018 · 553 posts · 118 votes
- Are you part time or full time in your land-lording business....?
- If part time, why? Is it due to the fact you only own a few homes?
- if full time, why are you full time, how many homes do you operate?
Thanks for all feedback! Excited to hear responses, my friend asked me “ why don’t you do it full time and drop out of college, your 21, you can just go do that! “
my response was simply, “ I want to pursue other dreams with my college education and also, you need about 25-50 homes to truly be Full time... “
North Aurora, IL · Member since 2017 · 6 posts · 2 votes
7y
Cameron,
How cool that you're doing this at such a young age! If it were me, I would absolutely finish college, but not for financial reasons. Also, not sure where you get 25-50, when I ran my numbers, I could probably live on about 10 homes (15 or so doors).
I personally do this part time as part of the juggle of family, a job and owning another business (daycare center). I would like to do this full time (in my mind that means semi retired), but each deal takes a lot of effort. I bought my first duplex in December 2017 and rehabbed it, both units are rented and its about time I start looking at doing a cash out and getting another property.
At such a young age, I really just hope you have fun with this. In many ways I'm quite envious of you.
Investor · Kingsport, TN · Member since 2016 · 412 posts · 254 votes
7y
@Cameron Riley you can be as active or as passive as you want, regardless of the amount of units you have. If your goals are to do something that requires a degree, pursue that with everything you've got and build your portfolio on the side. If your goals are to do real estate full time, drop out and hammer down. Your going to need at least a part time job to float the bills in the early stages, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
I'm dropping out of school. This semester will be my last. full time real estate is my goal and college takes up too much of my time for something I don't care about. But it really boils down to you and what you want in life.
North Aurora, IL · Member since 2017 · 6 posts · 2 votes
7y
Cameron,
How cool that you're doing this at such a young age! If it were me, I would absolutely finish college, but not for financial reasons. Also, not sure where you get 25-50, when I ran my numbers, I could probably live on about 10 homes (15 or so doors).
I personally do this part time as part of the juggle of family, a job and owning another business (daycare center). I would like to do this full time (in my mind that means semi retired), but each deal takes a lot of effort. I bought my first duplex in December 2017 and rehabbed it, both units are rented and its about time I start looking at doing a cash out and getting another property.
At such a young age, I really just hope you have fun with this. In many ways I'm quite envious of you.
Investor · Kingsport, TN · Member since 2016 · 412 posts · 254 votes
7y
@Cameron Riley i hear ya man. Im right there with ya. Im 23. I know exactly how people our age are. They cant reason their way out of a paper bag.
You can do both. But be very aware that if you try to do the rehab work yourself, your gonna be very overworked. Its not impossible. But it will be rough. Im dealing with that right now.
Schools not in my plans. Never has been. It was just a filler while i tried to land my first deal. Now that thats happened, i dont need it anymore. But thats me. Gotta do what you gotta do to be where you wanna be.
Not that i ever listen, but i try to tell myself that im young and have time to do all the things i want. Theres no rush. Your in the same boat.
Rental Property Investor · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 876 votes
7y
@Cameron Riley I guess if all you want out of college is a career, maybe dropping out is a wise choice. But there's more to life than a paycheck, like being a person who understands the world around them and can participate in our society in a constructive way. Much of being able to decipher what is happening is knowing what has already happened, and why.
"Ignorance anecdotes" have long been a hobby of mine. The National Science Foundation did a study in the early `1990s that found 55% of adult Americans could not correctly answer "does the earth go around the sun or the sun around the earth, and how long does it take?". How can people who can't answer that make informed decisions about climate, geopolitics, or any of the other seriously important issues we as a nation deal with.
I don't know you, perhaps you're an avid reader of books and newspapers who is capable of self-education. But that would make you unusual. Lastly, few people I know are doing at 50 what they thought they would at 20. The degree keeps your options open.
Rental Property Investor · Indiana...mostly · Member since 2019 · 468 posts · 245 votes
7y
Part-time for about 25 years. I like my day job. I also like being a landlord and self-managing rentals. I'm a born "work-a-holic" and am happy to do both, as well as other endeavors. The W2 income made it easy to buy properties. Like @Joe Edmonds said, I could live on 10 or so paid for rentals and it only takes a few to make a big change in a middle class lifestyle if you also have a W2 job and that's enough impact for me. I suppose I'll be full-time in a sense, when I retire from my W2 job - if I ever do that.
Investor · Wichita, KS · Member since 2017 · 584 posts · 813 votes
7y
Stay in school. Glad my parents didn’t let me quit in my final semesters of undergrad. I think I took Spanish 6 times. :) I went on to get an MBA, tuition reimbursement helped from my employer. I’ve also used excess student loan money from time to time to help with rehabs. I’m in a second masters program now, partly because I enjoy it, mostly because it’s been one of my many strategies to grow my real estate business. My education has made me a better investor and a better person.
I am taking the part time route. I earned my college degree doing something I absolutely love! My job pays for travel, I get to travel for work al expenses paid for, plus what I specialize in is my passion. However, I also know that I do not want to be dependent on my job for my financial freedom. I found myself at a point wanting to work every extra hour I could get to get as much overtime I could get, with hopes that I would "stand out," get a promotion and make more money. That is just way too must stress and time away fromy my family and friends.
I am getting into investment in general (real estate and stocks) as a way to achieve financial freedom, grow the money I earn from my job, and create multiple streams of revenue so that as far as work goes, everything I earn is all extra money that I can immediately reinvest, while my passive income streams take care of all of my expenses so that I no longer have to stress about making more money, working extra hours, etc.
To be honest, i can openly admit with no problem that I am not cut out to do this full time. The art of real estate itself isn't a passion. I don't want to have to worry about contracts, manage contractors, spend all my time finding the best deals that give me the best profits. I have an agent I just connected with (on BP actually!), that sends me lists on properties available, both for fix and flip and for rental (20% down, multifamily units that I can rent out for positive cash flow).
There are situations where I want the best profit, so I want the best deal. There are other times where I'm not concerned about the price. I don't need to negotiate every last nickel and dime. It is purely a long term investment that I will invest enough in to hold and acquire positive cash flow.
So only you know what your investment goals are. you are not in competition with anybody but yourself. You don't need to flip 30 properties a year just because the full timers are. Just remember, you earn more from a smart deal than multiple deals, but multiple smart deals is where you eventually want to get to!
Make sure you network network network! Go to real estate investment meet ups, have one on one meetings with investors (treat them out for a meal or coffee, their time and knowleedge in the long run will be worth way more than a 30 dollar meal). There are many real estate agents that specialize in property value and distressed investment properties that are more than willing to send you new listings as they come out. Just be willing to act quickly to get them. Take care of them, make sure they get their cut for their time, treat them to lunch to make up for you not wanting to fully invest in the marketing, and they will take care of you!
Rental Property Investor · Ankeny, IA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Part time real estate and full time W2 employee. At 50 years old and 23 years in my career, I'll stick around to get the pension and life time health care (not free). But I've never been an "all eggs in one basket" kind of person, and have enjoyed that paycheck every two weeks. As I take early retirement in a few years I will enjoy a pension, 401k, soc sec at age 62, and part time real estate buy and hold investments. A stool with four legs is much more stable than a pogo stick. I would encourage young people to jump at opportunities when they can, whatever those opportunities may be. I don't believe getting a college degree or an education in a trade is ever a bad thing, even if your career isn't in your area of study. But don't confuse that with getting a college degree at all costs either.
Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 32 posts · 9 votes
7y
@Cameron Riley lol I am the same way and there is nothing wrong with that. The investment opportunity in real estate is so profitable. Do that on the side, look at the appreciation value for properties in your area. Get properties that you can rent out with positive cash flow, let your qualified tenants pay off your mortgage for you and in 5-10 years your investments could appreciate anywhere from 50-100k+ while you continue to live your life. Just remember to take care of the people who are taking care of you. You not being 100% invested in real estate (like myself) means you don't want to put in all the time to manage properties, to find deals, etc. So make sure you find a great real estate agent will that funnel you investment deals and potentials, that specializes in real estate INVESTMENT and find a good property manager to take care of your units, and take care of them, since they will be putting in the time to take care of you!