Who earns a living completely from investing and how did you start?

Question

I'm curious to know who earns their income completely from real estate investing and how did you get your start?  How do you earn your income, flipping, wholesaling or rentals? From what I've learned and experienced, you have to have a lot of rentals to make earn any type of real money.

Darrell Shepherd · Answer

I'm on the model David mentioned above, doing 1-2 flips at a time, so 3-6 a year.  Usually dont mess with them unless there's at least $30k profit (after money costs and all fees).

Only I'm pretty far from bored...I kinda like taking summers off, drinking a lot, and taking lots of trips...

I'm over 6 figures on 2 flips so far this year, working on my third that should net $25k after the termites I found ($88k purchase, $52k rehab (new budget), list at $200k, prob get a check for $25-$30 after money costs, realtor fees, closing costs, etc.).  Can pretty much do that in (well) under 20 hours a week when I'm working, which definitely isn't 52 weeks a year.   I'd have done more, but was working on a 3/4 million dollar one at the beach that fell through, plus I'm doing 1-2 at a time because I dont trust the market.  Too much of it depends on what the institutional guys are doing around here.

I missed my $200k income goal this year.  Everything I own is paid for, though, so $130k+/- makes for a lot of fun...especially working part time at best.

I did pay my dues, though, made and lost millions before I settled on this model.  Went full time in 2000.  Quit a six figure job and had never bought a house other than the one I lived in.  Took 4 months to buy the first one, but bought 4 that month.  It was off to the races after that, but I still didnt take money out of my biz the first year.  Spent over 6 figures on seminars in two years (and dont regret it). Was living pretty large in '05-'06, but got wiped out in 2007.  Like knocked in the dirt for years kinda wiped out.  No fun at all.  My cookie cutter back then was to take things sub2 with a private loan on back of the existing mortgage to do repairs and pull some cash out on the front, then lease option it on the sale.  Works well in an appreciating market...30-40% market correction?  Not so much.  It was brutal, but I learned a lot.

Lots of ways to make money in this game, and once you figure out how to get the big checks (my first one this year was $85k and I didnt even rehab it), you can never go back to anything even resembling working hourly.  It isn't as easy as they make it out to be on infomercials or 'reality' TV, but the opportunity is there...

Once you figure it out and get your resources in place, there aren't too many better ways to make a living out there.

Matt B. · Answer

My hats of to those that do this part time and have another full time job. That is much harder than doing this full time.

Started with an apartment building, then flipped some houses, then bought more apartments to pay for expenses on the empty houses, then mobile home parks because we grew tired of the maintenance on the apartments.

Will say we prefer passive cash flow to the continual flip cycle. Not that one is better than the other, just a preference.

1 rental unit is way too many, 1,000 is not nearly enough.

Andrew O. · Answer

We are a money partner with an experienced (20 year) flipper, syndicated management rights in Australia. Rental income is our only active income, the rest is passive. These opportunities have only come up from networking, although I wasn't actively thinking to network, it's more a hobby you like to talk about (REI) and doors open.

We were a bit cash heavy with the flipper and therefore profits didn't scale, we ended up seeing 13% ROI from him this year (down from 18%) but things are steadying again. The management rights will see about 20% ROI (paid monthly). Rental grosses 22%.

Make REI a hobby, find likeminded people and explore possibilities.

Therese V. · Answer

I don't currently, just bought our first rental earlier this month. But in the future I want to have our 9-5 income replaced by the rental income.

Brandon Turner · Answer

Hey @Christopher Zink  - I did for a while, but now I'm putting my cash flow back into my properties so I can buy more stuff :) I made it mostly from income from cash flow, though a little flipping here and there. 
	
	I plan on a minimum of $100 per month, per unit - though I like to see $200 per month ,per unit. So it becomes a matter of collecting units. It can be tough when trying to do this with single family homes, but much easier with multifamily.

Account Closed · Answer

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Mark Ferguson · Answer

I could be full time re investor, but I'm trying to increase wealth as much as possible. I've got 8 rentals and five flips right now. I plan to do 12 to 20 flips a year.  I also sell real estate and that income is too good to pass up plus I like it.

Sean Kremer · Answer

If you stayed at a mobile home court in Milford back then, it was probably one of mine..... I own all but one in this town, (and that is because my wife forbade me to buy it,) Hope you had  a good stay..:)

Sean K

Larry Flanagan · Answer

Milford, Nebraska...I hung out at a trailer park there for a few days about 15 years ago when I was in college.  Maybe it was yours, haha.  I was on my way to ski in Colorado over spring break with some friends from Nebraska, some friends of theirs were in community college in Milford if i remember correctly...

Aaron Junck · Answer

I havent made it yet, I personally only have the 1 rental at this moment.

Another way that people haven't mentioned on this post yet it note investing. Check out podcast number 17 with Jeff Brown.. Great info here !!!

Who earns a living completely from investing and how did you start?

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