Ballerina Newbie: Investing in Cleveland, Ohio

[Emily Schultz]

Hello everybody! I'm Emily Schultz. I live in Portland, Oregon, will invest in Cleveland, Ohio but currently working on my tan in Scottsdale, Arizona. (I am actually here working and I use sunscreen. It's a business and pleasure trip truly.) I've been a professional dancer almost all my life and recently started thinking about what's next and real estate is the answer!

My husband and I discovered real estate by a lucky roll of the dice. We had just finished a 10-day, silent meditation course and we both came out wondering how we can set ourselves up for the future. My husband stumbled upon Rich Dad Poor Dad, we listened to it together on audiobook and it excited us immensely.  The thirst for knowledge led us to Bigger Pockets. But we had a roadblock that needed to be dealt with. 

I joined BiggerPockets back in October of 2019. At that point, my husband and I had around $27,000 in credit card debt. I didn't want to even begin to network until this was paid off because I wanted the connections I made with people to have the possibility of going somewhere; not just "Okay, well..I will talk to you again in 2 years." I wanted to be able to network more seriously. 

The goal of paying this debt off was very daunting. We had been trying to get it paid off for years and actually had only made the problem worse! We spent a lot of time listening to Bigger Pockets and hearing inspiring stories of people who MADE THINGS HAPPEN. They figured out how to save money and pay off debt even with low paying jobs. They worked more hours, they got creative, they were RELENTLESS and that's what we decided we needed to do. We needed to focus to get the work done. The meditation habits we had learned from our course helped us shift our mindset. No more excuses. But how would we do this? I had an opportunity to come to Arizona for a temporary work assignment that had risk but a possible life changing reward. So we came and we conquered! I am proud to say that our credit card debt is gone! I can't believe it. This accomplishment is only a few days old and I am still in shock.

I now feel ready to become present on the forums and start developing relationships while we save money for our first property.

My husband got his property management license in Oregon so he will be getting hands on experience that we can apply to our own rentals. 

My goal is to have one multifamily unit in Cleveland, Ohio by winter 2020. (We are looking at the city of Lakewood specifically.) We will do a house hack (live in one unit and rent out the others) and finance with Scott's VA loan. We also want a property where we can force appreciation and do the work ourselves. So another obtainable goal I have is to gain handy skills and work with tools! (Not going to lie..I am most excited about demo. Who doesn't want to have an Office Space type experience?) Another goal is to develop a social media presence to inspire others (and keep them entertained as well).

5 year goal: 100 doors  

Thanks for reading! Looking forward to meeting you! And who knows, working together in the future? Anything is possible!

With gratitude and excitement, 

Emily Schultz