New International Investor

[Nasser Aliseed]

Hello BP,

My name is Nasser and I am a newbie from Saudi Arabia. I have a decent job with good salary since 2007 but in recent years I thought that I do not want to only rely on my salary. Therefore, I started exploring different business and investment areas and ended up choosing real estate as my investment area.

In early 2016, I made my first deal to buy 1 BR apt in Dubai, UAE in off-plan project, with 7 10% installments during construction and the rest 30% is paid on handover. Everything was done to complete the deal via email and phone calls. The project is still under construction phase and is scheduled to be handed over in October 2019.

In about 7 months after the first deal, a friend approached me with a small investment opportunity in the UK, a studio apt. With very limited experience on how to analyze a deal, I could only use simple math to reach a conclusion that I am in with this deal. This small studio started cash flowing right away!

The need to educate myself in this area led me to do research in the web to find plenty of resources related to real estate, i.e, books, websites, youtube…etc.

One of the resources I found online which helped me to feel that real estate investing is logical and makes sense is BP, Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing!

I then decided to buy more properties whenever I save enough money, since I was not aware of the available ways to finance deals outside my country.

However, a dramatic event turned my life upside down. In early 2018, I was diagnosed with colon cancer with pneumonia and treatment plan was shared with me by my oncologist. I did not feel comfortable with the plan and therefore took a personal loan and travelled to NY, USA where I received professional health care and from here I send my gratitude to the people of NY specially the professionals who helped my fight cancer and get rid of it.

Regardless of all the pain associated this dramatic event, there are aspects that we can hold on to in order to go on with life. My treatment period was in unpaid leave therefore my salary stopped! On the other hand, the small studio kept cash flowing (small amount) regardless of my health condition. This strengthened my believe that I should not rely solely on my salary and I shall have other passive income streams.

Just wanted to introduce myself and share my story with the BP family and I am looking forward to be successful real estate investor.

Happy to answer any question you may have and sorry for the long post.

Regards,

Nasser

[Morgan Nilsen]

Welcome to the forums Nasser! I am sorry to hear about your cancer! I hope you have fully recovered, and that this awful thing stays out of your life forever. My mother is also fighting cancer and it’s very tough on her and the family. 

It is wonderful to hear that your investments was able to carry you financially during your time of unpaid leave. I hope this has inspired you to keep buying real estate going forward!

Next time you are visiting Dubai you should come join our community of real estate investors that all have met through BiggerPockets! We discuss real estate all over the world and it’s free to join! Send me a private message if you want to connect further!

Respectfully,

Morgan Nilsen

[Dan Zitofsky]

@Nasser Aliseed first off, let me say I’m keeping you in my prayers for a full recovery.

I can't tell you how the business of passive wealth has personally changed the lives of my family and I. I have been at this about 29 years from flipping props, wholesaling, multi families, land deals, Notes, SFR as well as multi family rentals.

I consistently made multi 7 figure incomes year after year flipping, but had no time for my family and friends. Basically very similar to most. Once I decided 8 years ago to make the switch and why I wrote my book “Passive to Prosperous” my life changed. I knew I’d secure the passive income I needed weather I worked or not.

I’m not going to lie and say it’s always easy and stress free, because nothing great ever is, but if you do things correctly you can certainly build a business of passive income. My recommendations are this.

1) Buy in a good emerging market

2) Have a good team in place (Property Managers, Contractor’s, realtors, attys, etc)

3) If you’re doing your own rehab, try and keep it as maintenance free as possible

4) Automate as much as possible

5) Stick to your vision

I wish you all the best.

[Nasser Aliseed]

@Morgan Nilsen Thank you very much. I am currently cancer-free and wish that your mother recovers fully and continues normal life. When i have the chance to visit Dubai, I will be more than happy to join the community. 

@Dan Zitofsky Thank you for your nice words and sympathy. The recommendations you mentioned above is highly appreciated and will help me in my investing journey. 

It is wonderful to be a member of the BP community. I will try my best to benefit from this friendly community and add value as well. 

Thank you.