My investment / financial goals

[Jacob Perkins]

Hello! I am a newbie on the BiggerPockets forum. I'm currently 23 years old and I'm learning everything that I possibly can about real estate investing. I'm interested in the buy&hold strategy of investing and plan to employ something along the lines of the BRRR investing strategy mentioned by Brandon here on BP. Ideally, I'd like to have enough saved up to pay for my first rental property by the time I'm 27/28 and then continue investing into my 50's if everything goes well.

I'd like to mention some of my goals and the thought behind achieving them:

1. My first initial goal was to make 10k per month to become financially dependent.  This was the first (and easiest) goal I've set for myself.
2. My second goal I thought about was 100 rental units. I'm sure this goal is possible, but I'm not dillusional and know that it will require a lot of work on my part. My focus is on residental multi family and SFR.
3. My third goal I thought about was 400 rental units.  I was listening to Brandon on a podcast or askBP video (I can't remember which), but he was talking about how you should set large goals for yourself.  I believe he said that by setting larger goals you're mentality toward achieving the larger goal would allow you to achieve much more than setting smaller goals (hence the 400 units).  I thought about how I might try to achieve 400 units.  I figured this goal might be slightly more achievable if I pursue duplexes, triplexes, quads, and apartments and possibly utilize 1031 exchanges.

I'd like to get the opinions of the members here on BP and know what you guys think about the goals I've set for myself.  How realistic is 100-400 rental units within the range of 10-25 years?  I realize success in real estate investing is a function of how much effort you put into it, continued learning, and a little bit of luck.  Let me know what you think!

[Max Householder]

Earn, save, invest. Get your financial house in good shape and you'll be able to save that downpayment in no time. Pay off your debts and don't take on more (new car loan, primary residence mortgage, etc.). Focus on being able to save a significant portion of your income, like 20-40% for starters. The less income your require, you faster you can get to financial freedom.

Get 2-3 months of expenses saved in an emergency fund and then start piling up those savings for a down payment. Add a side hustle, drive for Uber, tend bar, freelance write online, whatever works. It's easier to do this now when the only thing you're missing is hanging out with friends or whatever. Later if you have a family it becomes much harder. The vast majority of people will not work that hard, so you will be way ahead of the game.

I noticed in your OP you said you hope to have a downpayment saved within 4-5 years. You should be able to do this much faster! In Toledo, properties are not that expensive. $20,000 should be ample amount for a first down payment. If you can save half your income, you only need a $40,000/year income to buy one property per year. House-hacking is also a great idea because you can put down < 5% and learn how to landlord.

If you look at your current finances and Excel says it'll take you 5 years to save a down payment, change something! Either earn more or spend less or ideally do both.