Hey BP community! I've been wanting to write a post like this for a while and as the time nears for me to jump into REI, I feel like now is the right time. I would like to share a bit of my story with you along with my future plans — it would mean a lot to me to receive some feedback and guidance from you all — especially those in the Houston area. 

My name is Hunter, I'm 23 years old and from Houston, TX. I married my beautiful wife Ana last year in November and that's right about the time I first started hearing about REI. Ana is Brazilian and we decided to get married in Brazil — it was the most incredible wedding and I'm so glad we did — but, things didn't go as planned. We were planning to just have the ceremony in Brazil and then move back to the States after, but we quickly found out that wasn't possible when we went to the U.S. embassy shortly after our engagement and got denied entry back to the States. She had her tourist visa at that time and was planning to get her student visa to study, but when they saw we were engaged they told us that we'd have to go through the entire process for a marriage visa after we got married.... average waiting time — 14 months. We knew in that moment that we would be in a for quite the ride for our first year of marriage.

Fast-forward one year and we are still here in Brazil waiting for her visa... we are expecting to have it in the next 3 months but it's impossible to know for sure. All that to say, it's been a challenging time but we can see how God has used it for good. I was forced to start generating income to provide for us and working here in Brazil wasn't an option (a gringo who doesn't speak Portuguese — not a chance). So I started a website design & development company and thank God, it’s been successful. That part of the story has been challenging but also incredible in so many ways — not only been able to generate enough income to support my wife and me but I’ve also learned invaluable business skills along the way and I'm super thankful for it.

Again, that's been great — but for me, the most impactful thing during this year was being introduced to the world of real estate investing. Through books, podcasts, forums, etc (mostly BiggerPockets material) I feel like I’ve been able to surround myself with wildly successful and awesome individuals that have opened my mind to so much and impacted me greatly — even all the way over here in Brazil. I could go into loads of detail on just that but I’ll spare you guys the info. Again, it's been an extremely difficult season for a lot of reasons but so much good has come out it. 

All that to say, here I am now, in Brazil, with a business that is generating enough income to live off of, and a fire inside me to return to the States and jump headfirst in REI. Here's where I need you guys' help! 

At first, I was all-in about flipping houses and doing buy-and-holds — but after hearing more and more stories and becoming more educated on other strategies, I’ve questioned lately if this is just a good route and not the best route! 

I think things like "What about apartment syndication? Should I jump into that instead? That's where the real money is!" I'm not someone overanalyzes and never takes action, at least not most of the time... I just want to make the right decision and not waste time. After months of thinking and accessing my options...  I'm back at square one of wanting to flip houses as my main REI strategy — to start out at least. For a couple of reasons:

1) It sounds fun and my wife and I would both have a blast doing it... plus I think we’ll make a perfect team with our different skill sets. Yes, I said “fun” but I am well aware it’s not without its difficulties and challenges — I just mean that we will enjoy it as well and really like the idea of it, as most people do.

2) I think it's a great place to start my REI career, as opposed to trying to jump directly into something more complex like apartment syndication, for example.

I’ve spoken to a few syndicators and had them tell me there's really no “barrier to entry” and that if I make the right connections then I don’t need to start with flipping before getting into syndication. But I’m not sure about that... I feel like there’s wisdom in starting small and since I’m completely new to the business, I’m thinking it would be good to start out flipping and take those first years in the business to make connections and learn more. Then again, I just don’t know — I think it could go either way. I used syndication as an example but really what I mean is just going bigger, I don’t even know if I’d want to get into syndication… but, my end goal is to own 500 units consisting of big multi-family apartment complexes… and I’m thinking it’s going to be necessary to syndicate if I am planning to buy them before I’m old and gray. Correct me if I’m wrong.

I have $120k cash (sharing that because I need insight on how to best utilize it) and here's where I’m at with my plan:

• Step 1 | Get my wife’s visa and move back to Houston.
• Step 2| Find a mentor in Houston & work for free in exchange for them teaching me the business. I will add value to their life by doing absolutely anything they need — searching for deals, handling contracts, dealing with tenants, raising money, bring groceries to them at 9PM at night, etc. I can also offer website services to them free of charge because of my company and I’m planning to get my RE license too, as I’ll state in a step below.
• Step 3| Continue running my business — I have removed myself from it enough that I’m only working a few hours a day — this will allow me to work for free for my mentor and still bring in money to support my family.
• Step 4 | Get my RE license so I can:

a) buy houses of the MLS and save on commission

b) be a part-time agent to make cash on the side while making connections

c) add even more value to my mentor by having access to MLS and the ability to make offers on properties.

Step 5 | Use our $120k to buy a home (planning to find a good deal and rehab — of course — but we will settle down in the home, not sell it for profit and move the next year… we want to plant our roots.

Step 6 | Refi cash out of the house to use for my first deals when the time is right. My father is a brilliant mortgage broker so that will be at almost no cost, thank God. Because of this I wanting to put all cash down into the some so my monthly payments will be very low and I’ll be able to have extremely low overhead while working for free for my mentor. I will also be able to put that much more cashback and won’t be making huge interest payments.

Step 7 | Be patient, humble, and partner with someone on my first few deals — ideally my mentor.

Step 8 | Continue learning, growing, and building my portfolio… etc.

I’m sure I left some things out… but I think you get the gist. Feel free to pick apart my game plan and ask for clarity on things on things where needed, I’d really appreciate it. I just want to do things right and I don’t want to do it on my own... I’ve learned the hard way that goes.

Sidenote — I know I mentioned syndication and owning big multifamilies as part of the end goal but I'd like to add we are also considering new construction as well. My wife is 21 and will be going to get her Civil Engineering degree at the University of Houston as soon as we return. We realize this is something that may take years to build up to (no pun intended) but just wanted to put that out there as well. She is very passionate about construction, design, etc and has an incredible eye for it. Her father is building a multi-family here in Brazil at the moment and we've been blessed to be here and be a part of that... obviously it looks a bit different here but still awesome to be around real estate, even here in Brazil.

Please feel free to respond however you'd like, but here are a few specific questions that I have:

a) What do you think about my plan? What do you like and what you not like?

b) What do you think about my strategy for using the money to start out? Is it wise to be patient wait like I am planning to do or would you suggest I just jump in? (I think I already have my mind made up on this one but I'd still like to hear your opinion)

c) What practical advice do you have for me after returning to the States?

d) I believe finding the right mentor is the most important key in all of this.. what are your recommendations for doing so?

e) If you were in my shoes, living here in Brazil and waiting to come back to the States and jump in REI, how would you best take advantage of this time?

ps: I know that's a lot and it would be overwhelming to respond to every point I mentioned — please feel free to just pick the question that sticks out most to you and go with that one. I will be extremely thankful for any input, big and small! 

Thanks in advance for your guys’ responses!! Really looking forward to reading them and interacting with you all.

All the best,