If You Could Go Back To Your 20 Year old Self.....
Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis Indiana · Member since 2019 · 37 posts · 58 votes
If You Could Go Back To Your 20 Year old Self.....
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
5y@Damon Cameron Jr
I grew up poor, dressed in garage sale clothes, damaged canned goods, powdered milk and government cheese. I always believed I was capable of doing better, but I always compared myself to my family and friends. as long as I was doing better than them, I thought I was successful.
I bought my first house when I was 29 years old. Most of my relatives had never owned more than a trailer home on a rented lot, and none of my peers owned a house, so I thought I had hit the big leagues. 5 years later, I had saved up $7,000 and read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which motivated me to purchase an investment property. Again, I compared myself to my family and peers, and assumed I was a regular Rockefeller. I suffered from limiting beliefs, creating self-imposed limitations on what I could accomplish.
It wasn't until I turned 45 that I realized I was capable of so much more. I know I am in the top 10% when it comes to intelligence and work ethic, yet I acted as if I were an average Joe. To make a long story short, I stopped saying, "I can't" and started asking, "How can I?"
I changed my mindset and then bought an investment in 2016. In two weeks I will close on my next property which will bring me to 33 rentals and 154 storage units. I set a goal of earning $300,000 a year, which seemed impossible, and frankly ridiculous. I will be there before the end of 2021 if I inck.ude my regular income. I Believe I will earn that amount or more with just my rental income by the end of 2025.
Somebody's gotta win. It might as well be me. ~ Si Robertson
The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
17 Replies
- Rental Property Investor · Red Bank, NJ · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes5y
I think I became a multi-family landlord at the right moment in my 40's. Established professionally, financially and house and kids.
At that stage of the game in my 20's I would dump every ounce of extra cash into a domestic small cap/ S&P mix fund and not look at it until I established myself and saw investment opportunities which cash-flowed, and I likely would have wound up right where I am :).
- Lender · Hackensack, NJ · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 372 votes5y
Education is they.. (Not talking traditional education) but learn as much as possible and keep investing in your education. It saves you money down the road. Invest your time and money into something and stick with it .. my 20 year old self jumped around so much I never gave anything much time to catch fire... Just stick with it
- Investor · USA · Member since 2017 · 92 posts · 71 votes5y
I wouldn't change anything at 55 starting at 33 other than worry less and enjoy the journey more to being rich.
1. Save as much as you can. 2. Invest in stock funds. 3. House hack if you can. 4. Always put best foot forward at work. 5. Find mentors.
- Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis Indiana · Member since 2019 · 37 posts · 58 votes5y
Awesome thank you all for your responses!
- 5yKristen L GarnerBusiness MemberLender · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2021 · 451 posts · 287 votes
You are off to a great start by being proactive! I wish I would have educated myself sooner on investing in general...especially the stock market. Savings is important too, but now I have learned to make my money work for me. Best of luck in your journey.
- Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes5y
@Damon Cameron Jr
I grew up poor, dressed in garage sale clothes, damaged canned goods, powdered milk and government cheese. I always believed I was capable of doing better, but I always compared myself to my family and friends. as long as I was doing better than them, I thought I was successful.
I bought my first house when I was 29 years old. Most of my relatives had never owned more than a trailer home on a rented lot, and none of my peers owned a house, so I thought I had hit the big leagues. 5 years later, I had saved up $7,000 and read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which motivated me to purchase an investment property. Again, I compared myself to my family and peers, and assumed I was a regular Rockefeller. I suffered from limiting beliefs, creating self-imposed limitations on what I could accomplish.
It wasn't until I turned 45 that I realized I was capable of so much more. I know I am in the top 10% when it comes to intelligence and work ethic, yet I acted as if I were an average Joe. To make a long story short, I stopped saying, "I can't" and started asking, "How can I?"
I changed my mindset and then bought an investment in 2016. In two weeks I will close on my next property which will bring me to 33 rentals and 154 storage units. I set a goal of earning $300,000 a year, which seemed impossible, and frankly ridiculous. I will be there before the end of 2021 if I inck.ude my regular income. I Believe I will earn that amount or more with just my rental income by the end of 2025.
Somebody's gotta win. It might as well be me. ~ Si Robertson
The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews - Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2019 · 433 posts · 743 votes5y
As of last Saturday I’m 28 now and My biggest regret was that I didn’t house hack my first house. Didn’t even know that was a thing people did.
Whether you get a SFH or a small 2-4 unit, having your mortgage subsidized by other people paying rent is an amazing way to produce more wealth earlier in your life. You can then use the money you would have put towards mortgage towards saving, investing in the stock market, other rentals, etc.
- 5ySteve RozenbergPro MemberSpecialist · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
I would say dont get your degree!!! :-) Just kidding. I came from another industry of being an airline pilot oh, and 911 is what got me involved in real estate. The biggest mistake I made over the past 20 years when I first started is I never had a final goal or outcome that I wanted if you ever hear me talk or speak to people that is something that I hammer in because I realize it's so vital for figuring out what the end result is you want from owning real estate.
I purchased many many wrong properties because I never knew that those properties were actually taking me further away from what I ultimately wanted because I never asked that one question what is it that I want out of owning this piece of Real Estate.
I assumed buying properties below market value and if the property was Cash flowing then to me it was a good deal. The problem was it was not a good deal for me and what I was trying to accomplish so I failed miserably owning those properties and almost went bankrupt. The only thing that saved me was the fact that I still had an airline pilot job and that was supporting all the losses I was incurring with those properties.
My suggestion is always make sure whatever you purchase is part of your strategy and will help you achieve your goal.Also Have it written down with an end date
- 5ySheena DrakePro MemberMember since 2020 · 81 posts · 37 votes
I did not have cash means to speak of until age 32. In debt due to medical school, which we promptly paid off with a real paycheck coming in. Had a horrible experience with our first rental 10 years ago so sold and stayed content. Now back in the game and in 1 year will have 8 properties for rent.
We are a very conservative couple who wanted to build our dream home, and did. But.......at age 20 I would advise first and foremost to invest $6000 in a Roth every single year and make that your first priority. Max out your 401K if offered at work. Read and invest in stocks individually- I pay for the education and advice from Motley Fool and have been very pleased with their advice and then invest on my own through Charles schwab
Do not build that dreamhouse or buy that dream car until you are financially set up for life. I have no regrets BUT if I would have waited until age 45-50 to build it, and instead would have taken my extra income to invest in rentals starting 20 years ago.........I would be employed for fun and not because I needed it.
I would build my finances with a certain goal for age 45.........then reassess wants and desires. And don't go to college just to "go to college". A bachelors degree from some expensive university most likely will not increase your salary as opposed to same degree at state school. Educate yourself because it's your passion.
- Specialist · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2018 · 291 posts · 231 votes5y
@Damon Cameron Jr
1 created and or learn rare and valuable skills. Also part of this is creating or finding an edge or a few edges. One edge that my wife and I have is that we can makes 3+ times the revenue of an average STR in our market. Another is being able to created designs for properties that are both cost effective but also maximize the desirability and profit of a property.
2 figure out how to make the pie bigger not how to get a bigger piece of the pie. So many people see the economy as a zero sum game that if they get it’s taking from another. That’s is a false view and harmful. When I renovate a home and now it is more beautiful safe and functional I added something real to the economy.
3 love giving other people crazy good deals focus on creating so much value that if only ten percent found its way back to you, you would still be making a lot. I’m not saying don’t negotiate on your behalf and get paid adequately for your work but I am saying make the value come first and be ok with sharing generously of the fruits of that with others that have helped make it possible for you to add that value.
4 be consistent. May small steps will get you much farther than a few big ones.
5 be purposeful and have  strategy and direction. Many steps don’t get you to your destinations if they are not in the correct direction.
6 learn learn learn and throw away your ideas about how the world works many are wrong and all of them are incomplete. Learn how the world really works, how money work how people work how business and the economy work how real estate works how investments work. And most importantly learn what your purpose in life is (hint it’s to love and be loved but there is much more to it)
- Rental Property Investor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2018 · 682 posts · 729 votes5y
Originally posted by @Damon Cameron Jr:
Hello All,
I am a 20 year old getting finances in order and mindset to begin investing post college (get w2 income for qualifying through banks). If you could go back to your 20 year old self what would you tell yourself or actions you would do differently? I am interested in seeing the responses from Investors in the game with all levels of experience!
Thank you!
I bought my first rental at 21 while I was in college and that was one of the best decisions I've every made so you're definitely on the right track. To answer your specific question:
1.) Buy sooner - I could've bought that duplex at 20 instead of 21 and had #2 by the time I got my first.
2.) Don't waste $50k on a useless degree - I worked full time throughout college to pay for school and the business I ran taught me a lot. Managing employees, hiring/firing, selling projects, dealing with customer issues, etc was an extremely useful experience and prepared me for RE. Taking business courses at an average college to get a bachelors degree did nothing but waste money. This is probably my only genuine regret so far, I would be much further ahead if I'd put that money (and time!) into rentals.
3.) Don't worry about what everyone else is doing - When you're college-age it's easy to get sucked into making the same poor decisions that most everyone else is making. It seems to be a norm to be completely irresponsible and have a lot of fun for 4 years at the expense of the next 40. You don't have to completely sacrifice your social life by any means but if you can make a few wise investments & gain experience in these next few years it can pay off tremendously for the rest of your life.
4.) Be mindful of who you take advice from - People love to give guidance to people younger than them so you'll get this a lot in the next few years. Pay attention to those who are where you want to be in life because there will be plenty of people who are not where you want to be who will try and give you terrible advice. This is true everywhere, even on BP.
5.) Learn from someone who is where you want to be - As a corollary to #4, go to local RE meetups and provide value to someone you want to learn from. Trying to figure out how to buy rentals (or build new, or wholesale, or flip, etc) on your own is hard, learning first hand from someone who is already successfully doing it is much easier. The key to this is helping someone without expectation of anything in return and building a genuine friendship over time.
Being successful (in most pursuits) is a matter of simple/intentional/consistent actions over long periods time. Figure out what you're trying to accomplish, decide on an avenue for getting there and take action (and ignore those trying to bring you down along the way).
Dan
- Real Estate Agent · Addison, IL · Member since 2015 · 185 posts · 88 votes5y
@Damon Cameron Jr there’s no such thing as failure and the sooner you understand that perspective the sooner you’ll really take charge of your own life.
- Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes5y
I keep on harping and harping on this, but I'm a great example of it. All the best real estate knowledge and experience in the world won't save you from a bad relationship. Thomas Stanley, in his book Millionaire Women Next Door saw a clear division between self-made women. There were the Alphas, who came from emotionally nurturing, financially successful families, and the Betas, who did not come from such families and succeeded despite the odds. The Betas, again and again, fell into a bad personal relationship early in their lives. Stanley called the type of husband they tended to marry a "Marginal Bob."
This guy always held them back from expressing their full potential, in Stanley's view. Stanley's theory was that the Betas spent their childhood studying and working, and never had time for the extensive courtship rituals the Alphas had, never had the exposure to quality male role models they would have needed to develop the skills necessary to picking a good spouse.
I firmly believe the same is true for men. I've seen it happen again and again to a number of my Beta-type friends. Strivers, hard workers, great schools, great resumes...but they'll all trapped in marriages with some seriously high maintenance women who don't seem to do much to improve the bottom line for their families. And these guys convince themselves they're happy, with these gigantic mortgages hanging over their heads, driving ridiculously expensive European cars they don't need, locked into a lifetime of house-poor existence with maybe a 5-10% saving match for a 401(k). As long at they LOOK like they're doing a bit better than the next guy...
So forget the real estate training and investing for now and figure out what you need in a life partner to succeed going forward. Getting rich from nothing is a team sport, always has been, always will be. - Member since 2021 · 1 post · 1 vote5y
Hey! I'm also in Indianapolis and looking for my fist deal at 32. Two things I would do differently:
1. Buy “less” primary home—especially one I could hack
2. Now have gotten expenses down to about half of income. Wish I’d done that sooner to have more to invest.
Good lick! Would love to chat sometime If yore interested.
- Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis Indiana · Member since 2019 · 37 posts · 58 votes5y
@Jason Taber @Jim K. @Chris Herrera @Daniel Haberkost @Zachary Beach @Sheena Drake @Steve Rozenberg @Tucker Cummings @Jill F. @Nathan G. @Kristen L Garner
Thank you all for the great advice and sharing your knowledge!
- 5yKerry Noble JrPro MemberInvestor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
I wouldve read more books.....not went to college....and bought real estate sooner
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