All Forum Posts by: Walter Fabiszewski

@Craig Bellot

Thanks for sharing your story. Sometimes  you just fall into the right thing at the right time. It’s great that you were able to develop both a business and an investment portfolio out of something you found a passion for. I believe it was Confucius who first said “choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.”

@Kai Van Leuven

What a great great story. Although I worked with my dad who was a carpenter throughout my teens and he taught me the value of hard work and hustle, I wish I had someone who taught me about real estate and investing back then.

I originally got into real estate investing inadvertently at the age of 24. Over the next 10 years I acquired just shy of 20 doors and did a few flips. When the market crashed around 2007 2008 I lost almost everything. I just turned 50 about a month ago and I’m finally back on my feet and ready to aggressively hit the real estate investments again. Do you think there should be different strategies for an investor just starting (or my case starting over) in their 50’s As someone in their 20’s? Or are these principles and strategies pretty much universal? As I am more serious about and closer to retirement age, I probably should be more aggressive. 

@Patricia Taveras

Isn’t it an amazing feeling when you finally make that transition from tenant to home owner? Congratulations on rolling with that momentum and purchasing the additional properties and generating a positive cash flow. 

@Jesse Cote I love reading everyone’s stories too. It both inspires and motivates me. Welcome to the BP community. Study up and learn all that you can. Most importantly, don’t get trapped into analysis paralysis. Learn and take action. In the words of Nike: “Just do it”

@Colin Reid

First off I would like to say thank you for your service to our country. Are used to volunteer for big Brothers big sisters and my “little brother” is currently serving in the Air Force.

First off I would like to say thank you for your service to our country. I used to volunteer for big Brothers big sisters and my “little brother“ is currently serving in the Air Force.

it’s funny how things sometimes just happen to and for us. I’m sure you realize that it was a blessing in disguise how you “fell into real estate investing“. Keep up the great work.

How does everyone feel about investing in condominiums... especially long distance? I realize there are some pitfalls to condominium ownership such as having to deal with condo associations, rental restrictions and rules and regulations. As a Realtor I’ve had many people object to purchasing condominiums because they don’t want to “throw money away on condo fees“. I explain to them that they are paying one check to the association rather than having to write monthly checks to a pool guy, a landscaper, an insurance agent (for the common area insurance), roofers, pavers, etc. When I first started getting a little more aggressive with my real estate investing and was buying properties in Florida while living in New Jersey, I liked the idea of condominiums because it was that much less maintenance I had to worry about living so far away. What are your thoughts on investing in condominiums as opposed to single-family houses when you’re investing well out of your backyard?

@Brent H.

So glad to hear that you did your research before diving in to investing. Even better that you took action and didn’t suffer from analysis paralysis like many newbies do. 

@Andrew Carlson

Another great story. Most of all congratulations on closing on the 12 unit apartment building! Keep up the hard work. 

@Account Closed

Outstanding story. I am so happy to hear how you were able to dig yourself out of the hole (which I always thought was an odd saying: if you're in a hole how do you get yourself out of it by continuing to dig deeper?) In any case I was well on my way to financial freedom in 2005 right before the market crashed. When it finally did a year or two later (depending where you were in the country) I hit rock bottom because I deviated from my business plan. After a few short sales, a few foreclosures, a bankruptcy and my credit score plummeting down to about 497 I finally stopped the pity party and began to rebuild. Now I have an 811 credit score, a $92,000 HELOC and a cash reserve for my next BRRRR.

@Joshua D.

That’s a great story. When I got my real estate license in southern New Jersey I became friendly with many agents and brokers from different offices. I had one broker tell me that if he was single (like I was at the time) he would be buying and “house hacking” (Although he did not use that term) every two years. Although neither he nor I are accountants, at the time the tax law was if you live in a house for at least two out of the previous five years you can sell it and not pay capital gains tax on profits up to $250,000  He would say to move into the property, work on it over the two years and then sell it to take both of sweat equity and market appreciation.