Which one decision accelerated your growth the most in RE?

[Felix Stone]

Hi All - Trying to collect facts here (instead of ideas/opinions) from all the people who have achieved Financial Independence. I can believe some are lucky and capable of picking the right move right from the get go but I would assume most of us would find the sweet spot through trial and error, hard work and constant education.

And this is my attempt to collect education -

Which one decision accelerated your growth the most in RE? Was it finding the right team, starting value add projects, finding the right business partners, starting syndication, simply buying a ton of SFRs, getting into lending etc

[Tommy Brant]

Agree that house hacking is the best way to start. This is friendly on the "live under your means" mindset. 

I prefer buy/hold investing in my area. For me - I would add that acquiring the second/third rental properties are important. The obvious reason - it forces you to think about scaling. If you're house hacking you're primary residence to a friend or co worker, you probably don't need to think too much about lease agreements, evictions, etc. BUT if you have 3 properties, doing tenant screening, collecting rent, etc, it forces you to think about 1) what systems/processes do I need place to support this, 2) should I hold these properties in an LLC, 3a) can I afford to hire a property manager, 3b) can I afford NOT to hire a property manager, 4) what am I doing to find my next property?

I love working with my hands and putting in sweat equity, but the reality is me wanting to work IN my business isn't effective for working ON my business. It's valuable to know the 'how', but I'm at a point where I'm more interested in the 'who's to help me operate.

Hope there's something in there that's valuable. Best of luck on your journey!