From Knowing Nothing About Real Estate to Owning 3 Properties
A little over five years ago, I was working in hospitality, feeling completely burnt out, not making great money, and honestly knew absolutely nothing about real estate investing.
Then I stumbled across a job opportunity at BiggerPockets after deciding to move across the country (I moved during the interview process by the way so nothing was actually locked in).
At the time, I had no idea how much that decision would change the trajectory of my life. Being surrounded by real estate education (and people who were actually out there investing) made me realize that building wealth through real estate wasn't something reserved for people who grew up around it or had a ton of money. It was something I could learn, too. So I did.
I bought my first property and house hacked it. Then I bought another. And eventually, a third.
Today, I own three properties, with my first two generating roughly $1,500/month in cash flow. The third is my current primary residence, and I'm renting out a room to my brother.
I definitely didn't have some master plan five years ago. I just started learning from BiggerPockets, attending a ton of meetups, reading a few books, and taking action.
I'm sharing this because I know there's a lot of people on BiggerPockets who are where I was five years ago: burnt out, wanting something different, but feeling like they don't know enough about real estate to actually get started.
I can assure you that you don't have to know everything before getting started. I certainly didn't.
A few years can change a lot!
For those of you just diving into the world of investing, what first opened your eyes to real estate? And if you’re still on the sidelines, what’s holding you back from getting started?
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#2 Tax, SDIRAs & Cost Segregation Contributor
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#2 Tax, SDIRAs & Cost Segregation Contributor
- CPA, CFP®, PFS
- FL
Danielle, this is a great example of why the first property does not have to be perfect. It just needs to teach you enough to make the second decision better.
House hacking is especially useful because you get experience with tenants, repairs, financing, bookkeeping, and property operations while reducing your own housing cost. Once you start adding more properties, that experience compounds pretty quickly.
The tax side is worth paying attention to as the portfolio grows too. For the rental portions of the properties, I’d make sure the personal and rental use is allocated correctly, depreciation is being captured, and major repairs versus improvements are tracked separately.
For the properties that are now fully held as rentals, I’d also evaluate cost segregation if the numbers justify it. It may accelerate depreciation on qualifying components, but the important question is whether those losses are actually usable under your passive-loss situation.
Stories like this are a good reminder that consistency usually matters more than having the perfect plan at the beginning.
Happy to connect!
- Ashish Acharya
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- 941-914-7779
