35 Yrs Old Building a Rental Portfolio - Overcoming Doubt

[Lafontant Cherilus]

Had breakfast with a close friend of mine this morning and I explained that my goal was to eventually have minimum of $5,000 month coming in (after taxes) from rentals in low income / working class neighborhoods.  And I have ZERO today and recently got married. 

His response:

1. You will have a hard time doing that given you'll soon have a family and kids.

2. You have significant student loan debt so don't do anything silly

3. Make sure you really know what you're doing and the tradeoffs for doing that vs the stock market.  (Note: he is very very experienced in investing in stocks, works for a hedge fund)

Left the breakfast meeting feeling a bit deflated...but where there is a will ..there is a way. He made some very valid points.  Now my quest is to find a MENTOR who has done this..

[Michael Germinario]

Hi @Lafontant Cherilus ,

First of all, don't surround yourself with naysayers and negativity.  They will only tell you about the problems, you need to focus on the solutions.  Now for your specific points:

1.  Family and children:  All the more reason and motivation for you to pursue your dreams.  Anybody that says you can't do something because you have a family has a warped view on life in my option.

2. Student loans: Again, all the more reason and motivation for you. REI can be a solution to this problem, it depends on your mindset.

3. REI vs. Stocks: Do enough reading and studying on the topic and you will find this answer. My view is that diversification is great, so try and invest in both. However based on my research, I would choose RE if I had to choose just one.

My best advice for you is to draft a business plan around your REI goals. If you can draft a business plan seriously and accurately you will find 99% of your questions get answered. Maybe your plan is a home-run, maybe the numbers don't work out, but you owe it to yourself to find out.

Good luck and happy investing,

Mike