Introducing Myself to you folks.

[Tj Simmons]

Hello Everyone - My name is Tj Simmons, and I live in Wyoming Michigan. I am 22 years old and coming up on 5 years in the Insurance Industry. My Dad started in the Industry in 2000, and my Grandpa in 1967. 

My mother is a Realtor in West Michigan along with her Husband, my Step Dad, and they have been doing that for about 20 years now, so I personally feel my Mom was a big reason why I have such a passion for property, and why I love real estate so much. 

My Dad always had properties growing up and my Mom also - so I always kind of got Passive income, and how it worked. When I turned 19 I bought my first 5 bedroom 2 bathroom house in the shittest part of Grand Rapids...Stewart St. Burton and Division. I would hear Gunshots every night! And I know, I know in perspective it is really not THAT bad of an area...But I was 19 and Grew up in Hudsonville Michigan, We are in the Guinness world Record book for having 146 Churches on ONE Street, I thought everything was shady! 

So I bought the 5 bedroom 2 Bath House and I put an Ad out on Craigslist and Facebook for Roommates. I was going to live in one of the rooms, and rent out the other 4 rooms for $400/Month each. Great idea Right? My mortgage was only $737 so I was going to be Ranking in the Cash at 19! I never got good Roommates. One of them was a Drug addict that I had to kick out...One of them Trashed my upstairs room and then left EVERYTHING in it...One of them was good at paying on time...but also good at eating my food, and using the living room, and having friends over all the time....So I was able to handle that stuff for a while...But then I got a Girlfriend...my First serious relationship, and I said - alright, time for some privacy! So I ended up serving all of my Roommates a 30 day notice about 1 and 1/2 years after buying the Single Family home, and I tell my Mom that I want to sell it, and buy a Duplex. I hated living with Roommates, and I was ready for my Girlfriend and I to have our Own space, but I still wanted that Passive income, or 'House hacking" so I thought Duplex was a great way to go. So we sold the Single family home and took the money from that and used it on the Down payment for a Duplex in 49505 - which was just rated as the BEST neighborhood in America- so that is pretty freaking cool. We moved into the Upstairs of the Duplex, and we left the Tenants that were previously living in the downstairs...Their Daughter was living in the UPstairs apartment and we told her she would have to be out at Close so we could move in. I should have just kicked out both Tenants at that point - because the next 7 months became a living Hell because of the Downstairs tenants...We ended up in a lawsuit and they left late and their Dog bite my Fiance - CRAZY **** that I did not want to deal with, but had to deal with, because I was their landlord (Learned my lesson quick) So moving forward - I saved up some more money, and I refinanced my Duplex, I got the PMI off my loan, and I changed it to a Conventional loan, so if I wnated to do an FHA again, I would have the option. My Duplex reapprasied at $159k! one Year after I bought it for $100k! So I got a HELOC, and I bought a Single Family home, and my Fiance and I moved into that - even MORE privacy! so now we have the Duplex Rented out both Floors for $900/Month, and we are living in our Single Family home basically paying a few hundred dollars out of our own paychecks to live. My Goal is by 30 to have 10 properties cashflowing a good amount of money, so that our financial freedom is good enough where we could literally do anything that we want with our time.

That is my Real estate story so far. Along the way I work in Insurance, and I work with Amazing people! Amazing Mentors, friends, family members, people that are giving me GOOD knowledge of this industry to set me up for Success, and I could not thank them enough! I have had the opportunity to work with some amazing people in my career that have shown me some amazing things. My Goal is to Continue in my Insurance Career, my Dad is 53 years old Today! (Happy Birthday Dad!) and I hope someday that I can take over the Family Business, and continue Running it, and Continue my Real estate investments. 

Thanks for reading! If you want to Connect feel free to reach out! Would love to chat on here and if you are in Michigan at all would love to meet in person. You never know what expanding your circle could bring, so I always like to say it never hurts to at least have a conversation with someone.