Why You Should Stop Talking About Quitting Your Job Before You Have Your 1st Property

[Jonathan Greene]

This trend has been growing increasingly, but it's actually hurting most new investors. I've read so many posts from people in their early 20s talking about getting out of the rat race before they are even in it. Maybe it's social media. Sometimes, it's just not wanting to work. Or work for someone else. But it won't help you get more properties if you quit your job too early.

Please stop talking about quitting your job before you have your first property—or your second—or your third. Keep your job as long as you can. And then keep it two years longer. Here's why:

1. Having a steady job with steady and expected pay is the foundation you need to invest because you know the money will keep coming in as long as you don't get fired. You want a strong foundation that is compounding, not a house of cards with no base.

2. Having full-time employment is what makes you lendable. Traditional lenders don't care about your savings or net worth; they care about your employment and earnings.

3. Your job is your runway. You want to build the longest runway possible. You don't want one where you can barely land and take off. You want one with plenty of room to land and turn around while another plane takes off. (You're welcome to the pilots out there.)

4. If you use your job as a springboard and keep getting raises, you keep increasing your lendability and ability to get more properties. Don't just do your job, be the best at it. No matter your industry, being good at your job will help you as a real estate investor.

5. Your mindset is corrupted if you only think about leaving your job to be free. Owning rental properties is not freedom. If you self-manage, you will probably work more hours than you did before. A lot of people realize later that they traded a steady, easy job with the weekends off for an unpredictable, annoying job that is 24/7.

Remember that you aren't chasing financial freedom; you are chasing time freedom. Time freedom is different for everyone. If you make $100k working 10-5 Monday through Friday with 3 weeks of vacation and your weekends are free, that might be time freedom to you.

If you are into the FIRE movement, why do you want to retire early? Retire from what? When you love what you do, it's not something you retire from. But you have to grow into that.

Add any more to the list in your responses.

[Nathan Gesner]

People underestimate the amount of cash flow required. They don't build a proper reserve, failing to account for turnover costs, vacancies, capex, etc. I'm dealing with a 70-year-old owner who has spent decades spending every bit of her monthly cashflow. When she gets hit with a vacancy, she panics because she loses the income. When a 40-year-old furnace goes out, she gets vendors to piece it together with duct tape and kicks the can down the road a little longer. It's a constant battle.

Keep working the W-2. Put all your cash flow into improving your existing rentals or buying more. When you have 100% more cash flow than you think you need, then you may be ready to leave your W-2.