Why I WON'T Quit My Job To Invest In Real Estate Full Time

A lot of talk in the BiggerPockets community revolves on how to build up a real estate portfolio so that you can quit your job and retire early. This is fantastic for a lot of people, but I am not one of them. Don't get me wrong - I love real estate and I plan to continue building my rental portfolio. I also don't mean any disrespect to the people that do chose the path of quitting a W2 job as soon as possible. But, at least for now, I see my W2 job as an asset that can be used to accelerate my growth. Here are a few reasons why you won't see me quitting my job anytime soon. 

I just LOVE my job!

I am a Marine Corps pilot, and I would not trade that for anything. The view from my office beats any CEO corner suite hands down. I show up to work every morning and am surrounded by some of the best young people that America has to offer - sufficiently motivated with a level of buy in to the "company goals" that is nearly impossible to find in the outside world. My coworkers come from an extremely diverse background providing insights and viewpoints that I would have never considered myself.  Additionally, my job provides mental stimulation and a level of excitement that I would have a hard time giving up. I understand that not everyone is in this boat, but those that do love what they do during the work day should not be in any hurry to quit.

The stable income is great (For a number of reasons)!

Being a salaried W2 employee has benefits. Knowing how much money you will make in a given month makes personal finance budgeting easy. A stable paycheck, when budgeted appropriately, affords money to pump into future real estate deals allowing for greater flexibility on financing options and more scalability. Additionally, having a W2 income is very attractive to banks when applying for the cheaper conventional loans. By keeping the financing rates down in the 4s (or 3s), you can have greater cashflow on a deal to roll right back into the next deal. 

I don't have to "eat my seed!"

By living off of my day job, all of my real estate profits can be pumped right back into new deals. I can "plant my seed" instead of eating it. Over the long haul, this compounds annual returns and gives a greater velocity of money. 

It forces me to focus on systems and make myself a better landlord/investor!

This is true especially if investing from a distance. However, even when investing locally there are certain times where you cannot pick up the phone due to job responsibilities. This may feel like a curse at times but it will force a level of business development and automation that will only serve you well in the long term. When you literally CAN'T answer that midnight call to fix plumbing, you will be forced to delegate that out and enjoy a better quality of life as an added benefit. I don't have time to self-manage (so I budget and buy accordingly), learning a lot about that side of the business by asking my property manager a ton of questions in the process. When you do decide to retire from the W2 job it will be a a seamless transition to keeping the real estate business running as it was before (with systems and automation in place) and all you will be left with is a ton of joy to pursue passion projects. 

There is nothing wrong with wanting to get out of a bad job as soon as possible. That is one of the great benefits of Financial Independence - it gives you the FREEDOM (not REQUIREMENT) to be able to quit your day job. But, if you love what you do you can better leverage that job to serve your Real Estate investing business! Your job can be a huge asset.