New to Investing, This is my Homeless to Millionaire REI Journey
Hello BP friends!
I started this journey when I was 21. It makes me sad looking back, because this journey sucked. Very little income, no credit, lacked motivation and a definitely only had a 1st world perspective of the world. I was too smart for my own good, and so I had no desire big enough and for a short while ended up homeless all while working in and trying to learn real estate and mortgages at the beginning of the big recession. Why? Well I listened to Rich Dad Poor Dad, and read every book he wrote and felt convinced that if I worked for free or very little as long as I learned something valuable and gained a skill it could pay off. All the while I trashed my credit, I was definitely over prideful and stupid and it took me many years to get that fixed (still working on the stupid). I could've easily taken any job and been better off, I mean any job. The turning point was looking in the fridge and not having money to buy food, my cars gas tank was empty and I was 2 months behind on rent. I gave up on real estate, moved away (sucked it up and moved back in with family) and started trying to rebuild and figure out life at age 29. This might be normal now with millenials and all, but I was seriously embarrassed. With my tail between my legs everyone I knew, knew I failed and I had all the scars to prove it.
I never want to be broke again, I never want my family or loved ones to experience that, on a grand scale - it sucks. So I've been putting in years, the reading, the mindset shifting paradigm enabling... time and effort to get into a position where I can really do something about it. I'm not in my 20s and can't eat subway sandwiches everyday (yuck)... but I do understand mortgage financing, and credit- I've taught both and was trained by underwriters (yes back when I was supremely broke). My credit used to be (if I remember right) a 436... let that sink in. Nobody would even lend me a dime. I slept on couches of people who were coke heads and rich and I couldn't even get a cellphone provider. Life isn't fair, but it does equalize in some ways. My mindset had to change for any of this to be worth it.
Fast forward, 11 years later, I'm now 38, and married 4 years. My wife and I live in an insanely beautiful area in Lake Tahoe. I used to be an office guy, a tech-guy, and thought I was too smart for manual labor... well when life has a lesson to teach, wake up!... I've been doing manual labor since the end of the recession and building/remodeling since, and honestly nothing compares to the satisfaction you can get from building something new or remodeling something ugly and broken. And it helps you get off your butt and build some muscle too :) Ancient King Solomon who was arguably the wealthiest man who ever lived wrote how sad it was that man should work hard and hand over his work to someone else who didn't work for it, and he stated that ultimately you should enjoy life, and find enjoyment in your work, whatever that work is Eccl 8:24.
I've physically built and remodeled $50 million worth of real estate in the last 10 years. I don't own the company I work for, but I treat it as if I did. My credit now varies around 720-800+. About 6 months ago, I started earnestly and seriously looking at RE investing, I was refinancing our home and my plan was to pull out a HELOC. We bought our home from an older lady who lived in it 30 years, it was in bad bad shape (cha-ching) Remodeled it and years later it appraised for nearly double what we paid. This wasn't by accident, we waited and waited for 2 years we waited and when we saw the right property we jumped on it. Currently we are in the process of purchasing our 1st buy/hold property in pretty good area of Detroit. Also, trying to secure a $750k credit line for investing. I've never been to Detroit - I know nobody from there, except a few people I've met on here and some businesses I've called, but I love the city its woes and history and all.
If anyone has good connections there - we should close in about 30 days or less. It an all cash deal. Rents are about 1000-1300/mo in this area and looking at about 100 other properties.
Sorry for the rambling on, but in case I ever make it to the BP podcast, I wanted to have this written down because Alzheimer's is real :)