From childhood poverty to my first RE deal!

[Crystal C.]

Hello BP community! I'm a newbie investor here in the midwest (Milwaukee). RE investing is something I've been interested for years.
I didn't have the know-how at first, so I spent 3 years as a resident apartment manager, learning the ins and outs from an RE management companies. I managed college student rentals near the university and then moved to managing a (slightly) more upscale building in a wealthy suburb.

As a person who grew up with very little money, it took me many years to build both the funds and the nerve to get to this point. My job with the management company was key here, as resident managers tend to get free rent (and the worst unit) as compensation. I saved all (ok, most) of my would be rents. I also scored lots of experience. Prior to this, I had stopped taking student loans as a Sophomore in college. From the end of Sophomore year and forward it was all "scholarships or bust." I did win 4 scholarships during my last three ("super-senior" here) years in college, but I continued working my part-time jobs while going to school. This allowed me to graduate college with almost 20k in savings. 

I left my resident manager job for a really great full-time job but I had to pay regular rent again. So I moved into a 200 square foot room with only a bathroom and no kitchen. I took two more part-time jobs and continued to save. 

Saving got easier, but I still had to face a lot of subconscious fears in parting with something that gave me a strong sense of security- that saved money. The push was giving up on the idea of the "unicorn" deal (perfect in every way) and building intrinsic confidence in myself- the belief that I'm savvy and determined enough to rebound and recover if things don't go as expected....even if they went TERRIBLY, and by sheer grit I wouldn't allow myself to tumble back into poverty.  When I began to *truly* believe that, I didn't need the *perfect* deal anymore, as handling hiccups became but the normal process of achieving mastery. 

So without much support in this, but after really pushing myself forward I finally made the jump and purchased a turn-key duplex in a small suburb of my city. 

Well, it's paid off so far! I managed to negotiate the price of the property down from the original asking price and still the appraisal came back valuing the property at almost $20k higher than the asking price! Not only is the property something I'm really proud of, I will step through my front doors with a good amount of equity right off the bat. The whole process was both nail-bitingly stressful and yet exciting and exhilarating. My strategy is buy and hold and niche will be short term rentals for traveling professionals. A big thanks to Bigger Pockets for teaching me the importance of "running the numbers" and for the wisdom imparted to me from many successful investors interviewed on the podcasts. 

I can't wait to continue the journey and look forward to learning from you all! 

What about you? What did it take for you to land your first deal?