Family beating the **** out of me for becoming a landlord. What the hell?

[Joey Hansell]

Hi everyone, I am seeing if anyone else here is struggling to get support from your family for your decision to invest in real estate by becoming a landlord. I would like to acquire many more and quit my job some day soon.

I'm 25 and work as a CPA during the day, no wife/kids. I read up on it for months before finally spending most of my savings (left a big chunk for an emergency fund) on 2 single family homes in town about 2 months ago. I finally got them both fixed up and got them both listed AND rented out this week!!

I was so excited and finally told my parents and my 2 older brothers. I never spoke to them about his because I know they would say "why would you waste all those years becoming a CPA and then throw it all away to do a thing that someone without a degree/designation could do". 

Well I told them last night at a delayed fathers day dinner. They all called me stupid, foolish, wreckless, slum-lord, etc. My mom said she was disappointed that I did this and she expected more out of me. WTF, right?

[Frank Jiang]

My father is from Shanghai, China.  He was the youngest son in a family with 4 other kids.  When he was young, he worked on the docks.  He would save the money he earned on the docks and would buy books to supplement his learning.  My grandfather would yell at him for this.  "Why are you wasting money on these books?"  He just didn't understand.  He thought my dad would do better by working another job and making more money.

Because of his diligent study, my dad got into Beijing Fudan (elite school) and then moved to America to pursue a doctorate degree.  Today, he's a Professor who's recognized as being a front runner in his field.  His American salary overshadows the rest of his family combined by orders.

Remember that your family means well.  Remember that all the learning that you've done in regards to real estate is alien to them.  Things that may seem simple to you are things that they won't understand.  Things that are unknown are scary and emotional overreactions are a natural response to fear.

Best of luck!