All Forum Posts by: Kristi Smith

Hey Thomas! Me and my husband will be moving back toward Athens in the next few months so we can open a gym! We have 6 properties so far in FL and GA, but plan on doing more wherever we end up. We're 28, started at 25 and definitely wish we would've started younger, so good for you! 

We have a cabin in the north GA mountains that we are about to move to for winter! There's not skiing, but that's possible a little further north into NC. 

Congrats! I'm pretty sure I've drove by this house before! We are hoping to move back to Athens by the end of the year and find something to househack. I'd love to connect! 

Hey Katie!! Me and my husband are buy and hold investors currently living in Jax, FL, but we have a couple of properties in GA and plan to move back by the end of the year. We've been up at our cabin in Blue Ridge for the past month and a half and hope to keep spending more time up here! Now is a great time to be in the learning phase, just make sure you don't get stuck there! Set realistic goals and timelines! Good luck! 

Hey Graham! We are investors currently living in Jax, FL but have properties here and in GA. We are planning on moving back to Athens (we graduated in 2015) by the end of the year and hoping to find something to househack. We quit our jobs earlier this year though, so trying to figure out how we want to pay/qualify! I'd love to connect since I haven't been able to find many investor networks in the area! 

In our business, one of our tenants is an AA family that we took a chance on, which most people wouldn't have done. They had a previous eviction and low credit. They have been wonderful and there almost 3 years. We hope their time with us will allow them the opportunity to buy their own house next, when they decide to leave us. We also hire several black owned businesses for various things.

In my personal life, I've been having these tough conversations for years with my close friends. I know what challenges they face and we have both been very candid. I am also a former juvenile probation officer that was in a predominantly black school. When I first got there, the kids straight up said to my coworker "what does this little white girl know about anything?" Didn't take them long to realize that I've also been through a lot and we had more in common than they thought. I became an orphan the day after I turned 16 and was also an at risk youth. I understand some of the struggles, but don't pretend to relate on all levels. Since then, for the last 5 years, I've been mentoring at risk youth. That also includes running a program with my former coworker at the school I was talking about. It was focused on bringing kids and parents (or other family members) together and working through different issues to build a stronger family unit. I think this plays a huge role in society. We are planning on moving back to our home state soon and once we get settled, I want to start a program that brings my passion of FIRE and mentoring together and teach kids about financial literacy. I think building a strong family unit and financial literacy, will go a long way. 

Growing up in metro Atlanta was also pretty diverse, so I think being around all different types of people played a role from the beginning. We plan to raise our future kids in the same diverse environment. 

We are hoping to move back to Athens and househack (biggest regret is not doing that when we were in college, even looked around 2012ish), so I'm hoping B lol. But so far, everything is flying off the market with multiple offers the first day. If anyone is local and has connections, I'd love to chat!! 

Hey! We just bought a place in Blue Ridge. Not sure if that's close enough for this or if you know of something else in the area?