A rookie starting with the end in mind

[Danny Lambert]

Hello BP Community,


I like to imagine my real estate life when I retire from wage work in 10-15 years. I am curious what type of investing you think provides the best return on investment for a half-time job (roughly 25-30 hours a week) and roughly $1.7-2 million in today’s money. A diversity of answers is welcome as I decide where to point my investing after I start my first house hack. I certainly understand that your opinion may vary by market and I cannot base my investment strategy on speculation or “swinging for the fences.”

For context, I want to keep my mind sharp and net wealth growing (or stable) as I age once I have the specified amount. I also want to spend a lot of time with my loved ones and hobbies (even if that means I’m driving a Corolla instead of a sports car).

Thanks a bunch!

[Greg Scott]

Danny:

I believe the answer will change depending on where you are in your real estate journey.  It certainly did for me.

• I started out buying turn key rentals because they were easy to buy and worked
• Once I got more confident, I started rehabbing ugly houses, making a much larger profit
• Then I started investing passively in multifamily deals, which allowed me to invest big chunks quickly
• Then I syndicated a small apartment, gaining experience and building my capital
• Now we are syndicating large apartments with large staff and property management.

From a percentage basis, the houses I was rehabbing was probably the most profitable, but you can only invest in small chunks and it takes time. I'd never go back to that though because it isn't efficient for what we are now doing.