Gerard J.

Experience: I'm a homeowner looking to start investing in real estate again. Aside from a home my wife and I owned back in 2004 (short sold in 2011) and our current home in Colorado, we've only owned one other property. It was a rental duplex in Austin,TX which we sold in 2008 as we panicked due to the recession. Looking back, we should've kept the property and continue letting our tenants pay down the mortgage. Every now and then I check the property in Zillow and it is now worth approximately 90-110K more, depending who you ask. Lesson learned! Real Estate Goals: Buy and hold at least 50 properties by the time I turn 50 by year 2026. Take advantage of tenant loan paydown and/or appreciation. Hopefully be able to use some of those money for kids' college fund, if they choose to go, or supplement any retirement income for me and my wife when we retire.