Feeling like I am stagnating with early success.

[Ryan Ness]

I am 22 years old and a licensed Realtor in Lafayette, IN. I am currently looking for my next investment opportunity while also working to help new clients who are focused on building generational wealth through Real Estate. 

With the market being scarce at least on the listing side of things, what are some daily practices you have taken on to ensure that you are still moving forward even when it may feel as though you are just spinning your wheels?

Right now I have had a lot of time available to read many books on finance/investment/real estate, but am having a hard time deciding where the most impactful area would be to take action. I am living in one half of a duplex, which would cashflow at a minimum of $800 once I move out, so I am eager to find the next opportunity to be able to take advantage of this cash flow. I have received $7,000 so far that is set aside for expenses in high-yield savings as the property will likely need an HVAC and Roof Replacement in the future. HVAC is budgeted as a $16-18k expense to entirely replace both units (worst case scenario) and then the roof is budgeted for $12k. I have cash liquid beyond the income from the property I can draw from if necessary but I like to keep it separate and just let the CapEx account build.

The real estate sales that I have done so far have been all from family relationships and family friends and I am looking to expand my reach to help more people in the real estate industry. With the slow market, I am having a hard time finding balance between committing to either RE sales, or my Full-time job that requires about 85hrs/week, and looking for investment opportunities. Does anyone have any advice from a similar experience?

[Brandon Gale]

Was in a very similar place about a year ago. House hacked a 3 family that cash flowed about $1k/month when I moved out. Was super eager for the next move but felt I was spinning my tires looking for it. Was searching everywhere for another multifamily to house hack but the market had gotten crazy in my area. Had already done a cash out refi so couldn't pull anymore money out. Thought about flipping, tried for off market deals, but wasn't working. I finally broke through when I decided to consider something I never thought I would, I started considering selling the house I hacked. 

It was a great investment with easy cash flow so I never thought I would want to sell it, but I decided to entertain the idea and really think about ALL my options. I realized that the equity I had in the property was enough to put 20% down on a short term rental that would 2x or even 3x my cash flow, and have additional cash leftover.

So I sold the multi I thought I would be holding for years and the last 6 months have been great. Hard work, but great. I'm doing something new in the REI world and making much more money with my new property than the multifamily (for more effort but still worth it).

Not telling you that you should sell your property, everyone's scenario is different. But if you hadn't considered whether you could get a better return on equity in another market, or another investing method, it may be worth looking into and it may get your REI journey moving again.