Omar Gallegos

I have been a landlord since I was 22 years old. Its not that I set out to be a landlord but circumstances caused me to become one. I bought my first property in 1998 with a VA loan and live in it for only 6 months because left San Antonio to study at UT Austin. Having only lived there for such a short time and becoming a full-time student, all I could think of doing was to put a "For Rent" sign on the front lawn and have been a landlord ever since. What's crazy is that I didn't know what I was doing but I managed. I'm not sure how I learned of or came across "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" but I'm glad I did. That book convinced me to hold on to that property and I did. After graduating from college and about 7 months into my job, I decided to buy my second property. Again, intending to live in it but only lasted one year before moving back to San Antonio to pursue a career flipping houses working for Homevestors, the "We Buy Ugly Houses" people. This was late in 2006 and things were great until, as we all know, the bottom fell out and I got burned. Luckily, I was able to buy my third property where I still live. Seeking a safe haven and more business knowledge, I became a business banker. I will say that I learned a lot but realized that banking was also not as safe as I thought because the financial collapse followed soon after. Having lived 3 market collapses (I didn’t mention majoring in Computer Science switching to MIS then Marketing due to the Tech Bubble bursting the year before graduating college) and seeing the greed or "Irrational Exuberance" that existed after my life in the military, I decided to completely shift my focus. So, I became a High School Teacher. I did this for these three main reasons, make a positive difference in people’s lives, spend more time with my family, and become an entrepreneur. Fast forward to today and I’m still teaching business classes at Brackenridge High School and at St. Philip’s College as an Adjunct Professor. I own two small businesses and what I am now calling my third business, Mercury REI, LLC! I am jumping back into the Real Estate acquisition game and am grateful to Bigger Pockets for all of the resources it provides. I now have a solid Real Estate Investment plan for the present and future. I am currently working on buying more (single thru 4-plex) properties by using the BRRRR strategy and flipping when it makes sense. My overall plan is to use the stack method by doubling the units I buy every year until I buy a 16 unit apartment complex. On 5 years, I plan to own a mini-resort on a beach in Central America where we will have cabins for rent and our juice/coffee bar on the property. I also plan on buying a retail commercial property for our juice/coffee business in San Antonio when the time is right. I will continue refining my plan as time goes.