Returning to Real Estate Investment after a Seven Year Absence

[Michael Miller]

At the age of 18 (2005), after working hard during my mid-teenage years and saving well, I bought my first property in cash.  That is when my first real estate blunder occurred; despite that I bought it with cash directly from the city, they neglected to inform me that via zoning laws I could not turn that old firehouse into a residential home or retail space.  Then months later I leveraged another.  With this home, I fixed it up well and had tenants in one side, me in the other.  They paid for my mortgage, and this relative success made me forget about how aggravated I was about my first purchase.  Two years later, I was closing on my third in late 2008 when everything was obviously hitting the proverbial fan.

To make this long story as concise as possible, I saw my property value sink, tenants became hard to find, thus ultimately I took the potentially bad advice from my attorney friends and filed bankruptcy.  I learned the hard lesson that confidence and passion are not the only essential ingredients in the making of a successful business.  I needed more education and direction.

After some years away from real estate, I found that I never lost the passion.  It was always in my mind.  I kept telling myself that after I'm older, more successful in some other industry, I could buy some property.  However, as the time passed and I educated myself more, I realized that real estate investment and management is the right career path for me.

Now I am aiming to get back into the industry through property management as I find that to be a quite interesting profession, for which quality firms are allegedly difficult to find (I say this through my own experience and through reading BP and listening to the podcasts).  I haven't been successful yet in finding a firm to work with for the next few years, but I am continuing my search in a few principle markets, especially NC's 'research triangle'.

Thank you all for keeping this community going.  I've already reaped much reward and I look forward to future correspondence with you.

-mc

[Trevor Ewen]

@Michael Miller 

Welcome. Your experience is a treasure trove of value. This will get you into the game faster than most. You have seen the bad side of this business, age makes you wiser, and you clearly have many years ahead.

If I was looking to make my day job in real estate, property management is assuredly where I would be. The main reason is because the bar is set so low by many managers that I have met. The good ones stand out: just for doing their job. As a result, there is a sincere need. 

Research Triangle in Raleigh/Durham is a great/nice place. If you are looking to get your legs in property management, I would even get started in Kalamazoo. Get some experience, some references, and make a bit of scratch while you're at it.