Experienced but burned in Chicago

[Paul Grachan]

End game for here... I need to find a ray of hope. An honest opportunity to set my family up for when I am gone, which will be much earlier than I would like. Facing that fact has created urgency. I understand the upside in real estate and I also understand the treadmill of my corporate job which will not achieve what I need in the time I need it. Background: I got into real estate after finding myself homeless having been laid off of my job at a religious organization serving people, (I left my corporate career to do so and made less than $9,000 per year). This happened right after 9-11. I worked with immigrant construction workers for $30 for 10-hour days after I was unable to find a job of any sort. I have a degree and post graduate work at Yale, I do not drink or do drugs, BTW, I was simply over qualified for what was available. 

Through that, I learned skills and the flow of work sites and how to manage workers. By chance I was contacted by someone from HS who wanted to catch up. He had a bunch of money, I had knowledge, we teamed up and started flipping. It brought enough money to get a home, stabilize, prosper. But my lack of long term market understanding lead to over extension on my personal buy-and-hold properties. 2008 destroyed me as 95% of my tenants decided they no longer needed to pay... and some even decided that they were entitled to my mechanical systems and metal materials like plumbing and wiring... one even burned down a multi-family building. Losing everything we had has thrown off the course of my family to this day. I work 2-3 jobs every week. I have taken jobs I hated for 8 years. None has the opportunities or fulfillment that I saw while in real estate. I know its a different environment now, but I know there's something here for those of us who are willing to put in the time and be realistic with goals. I'm hoping to find what I'm looking for with the help of communities like this.