This post is long overdue but I'm finally taking the time to give my testimony and thank God that I've been blessed to be in my position.

My real estate journey began February 18, 2018 when my best friend (since 7th grade... we're now both 22 year old business partners) @Alex Kamunyo recommended I read Rich Dad Poor Dad. I hadn't even read a book since 8th grade but this one was so mind changing that I finished it in just 2 days! From there my obsession with BiggerPockets and self-education began, and after listening to over 150+ podcasts (averaging 2 a day) and reading 10 books (2-3 per month) I was ready to take action! We both graduated from college in December 2017 and started working W-2 jobs in January. I was able to save $1000-1500 a paycheck and put it away over the course of 6 months before leaving work and going to graduate school. I thought that this would be the perfect time to House Hack instead of renting thanks to @Scott Trench's book Set For Life! I used BiggerPockets to find an agent in Indiana, while working in Maryland, and @Patrick Hermans recommended me a GREAT agent to use. I flew out to Indiana one weekend in search for a multiplex but had no luck due to the scarce market. Most people would've quit there but I just thought, maybe I can buy a house with a lot of bedrooms and rent out the rooms the same way (little did I know this was already another version of house hacking)! Even though I wasn't able to view anymore properties in person, I looked through new deals that came on the MLS EVERYDAY until I found my 4bd 2.5ba SFH and had my agent Skype me while he walked through it! I was able to get it by putting down only 5% and co-signing with my dad (due to my "young" credit history.. P.S. I HIGHLY recommend anyone piggybacking on a RESPONSIBLE person's credit for an instant credit boost). I closed on June 29 and had 3 of the 4 rooms rehabbed and rented out by the end September! The last room is the one that I live in, and I now live rent free and pay my mortgage/utilities with my tenant's rent money! I went through over 200+ different prospects before getting my 3 qualified tenants and now I live passively while going to graduate school (where I also get a monthly stipend as a graduate student!!).

However, the story doesn't stop there! Me and Alex also started an LLC in Houston with my parents where our primary focus is buy and hold as well as flipping. We closed on a house in north Houston on July 31st and gave it a full rehab and have it on the market now, expecting to make a profit of over $30K! I've learned soooo much along the way with just these 2 deals and we're looking to move towards multifamily to quickly start scaling, especially after we make our profit from this first flip to use for our next deals using the world famous BRRRR method!

A HUGE thanks goes out to @Brandon Turner for the inspirational webinars, podcasts, and books including Investing In Real Estate With No (And Low) Money Down, The Book on Rental Property Investing, and the book with his wife, The Book on Managing Rental Properties! Also, thanks to @David Greene for eliminating the fear of investing at a distance with his book Long Distance Real Estate Investing. Undoubtedly, I gotta thank @Joshua D. for having the courage to start this empire and growing it to what it is today! The entire BiggerPockets team has been an inspiration to me and I love using the knowledge I've gained to inspire others to do the same! It's not about being rich and quitting your job, it's about being financially independent to do what you want with your time! Time is invaluable and too precious to spend 40 years of it in the Rat Race. Keep an eye out for my name, you'll definitely see it again in the future!