Starting Young In Real Estate: Hi My Name Is Nathan

[Nathan Shepard]

Hello Bigger Pockets Community,

     My Name is Nathan Shepard, I'd love to tell you a little bit about me. I'm currently 20 years old and I work full time as an automotive technician at a new car dealership. May of 2016 I purchased my first primary residence in Kansas City, MO after renting for a few months. The house was my uncles and the bank took it over after he had passed. I ended up being able to purchase it back through the auction site hubzu. However that was not what got me into real estate investing.

     A few months after I had gotten all moved in and settled, I was in a near fatal motorcycle accident and was put out of work for 4 months. After the down payment on the house and being out of work for so long my savings began to run severely dry. Luckily I was able to get back to work just in time. With the house being my only source of debt, all credit cards are paid off monthly and all liabilities (as defined by rich dad poor dad) are purchased outright, my savings was able to bounce back just fine.

     It was at that point I began to reconsider how I approached the idea of earning an income, as well as many other things. I began to consider house hacking before I even knew the term. My primary residence is a 4/3 so I had plenty of rooms to spare, after talking to a friend and agreeing on a rent rate I realized if I could get two friends to move in, I could be living for free! After all I had already shared a rental house with a friend so I figured it would be a good plan. Though I have not yet put this plan in action as I'm very picky about choosing who I would want to move in with me. I've pitched the idea to one friend so far, who has a good job that he's been with for a while, and he seems all for it. Though we both agreed he should wait until he is completely financially stable until he makes the move. 

     Besides house hacking, I have started to look into rental properties in general. My mother is actually a Real Estate Agent herself and has been doing so for as long as I can remember. She seems very excited about my decision to invest and has linked me with a Tax Adviser, Lender, and Attorney that she has done business with for several years. So far I have gotten an LLC set up and i'm currently on an automated email list so I get updates when properties that fit my search criteria become active on the MLS. I don't want to jump into quickly and unprepared so I've been taking this time trying to learn as much as I can about the market before I invest, as well as learning about the tax advantages I can use through my LLC. Though I do not want to get stuck in the Analyzing Stage.

     With my current mortgage and Income, my debt/income ratio limits me to 50k loans at the moment. I've been looking into creative finance and am currently reading through Brandon Turners Book on investing with no (and low) money down. In the meantime I have also been using my automotive background to flip cars off craigslist and social  media marketplace ads in order to build some quick capital. However with no dealers licences, I'm limited to five cars a year. Getting the idea from one of the bigger pockets podcasts I talked to close family members and found the option of running cars under their names and compensating them with a fee, should I have issues with the five car limit. 

     In conclusion I am very new to the market of investing, I always welcome friendly advice and constructive criticism. Motivation is not an issue with me, I am more than willing to take the bad days with the good and am not looking to get rich quick overnight. My main goal set forth with investing is to build a steady passive income stream and become financially free by  the age of 35. I am interested mainly in the scope of buy and hold investments (I fell in love with the BRRR strategy as soon as I heard about it) but after I feel more comfortable with my knowledge and skill level I may be willing to leave my job and pursue a career in flipping houses as well.

Looking forward to meeting others on the site and taking advantage of everything Bigger Pockets has to offer!

-Nathan Shepard