Something that @Don Konipol recently pointed out in another thread of mine is that successful real estate investors from all walks of life really do seem to share a unified trait: THEY LOVE REAL ESTATE.
They're obsessed by it. They talk your ear off about property given half an opportunity. It's a lifestyle for them, not something they pick up in their off time and leave off easily when there's something else to do that occupies their interest. NOTHING ELSE occupies their interest in the same way.
So this is an informal poll: does anyone here in the BP forums do real estate purely on the side and doesn't wish they did it full-time? Is it a contained interest for you, and you could either take it or leave it? If you day-trade or read the tea leaves for hot stock tips or play the ponies or simply put your money in index funds, do any of these things occupy your interest like real estate?
Ultimately, does anyone really ever set out to do real estate as a minor part of their life's ambitions and succeed in it as a side hustle that they spend a carefully limited amount of their time and energy on?
Or do you simply have to be obsessed to even have a chance to make it in this business?
I'm a teacher so I value my free time above all else (except for God and family, of course). My original goal was to buy 5 rentals and have them paid off by the time I retired. However, market manipulation has presented a couple of opportunities to me since 2009, so I've ended up with more than I expected.
So, I started buying between 2009-2012, which was a few years earlier than I wanted (I was hoping my wife would be back to work after raising the kids through kinder and we'd have two incomes). However, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up for obvious reasons. My brother and I bought 11 SFR at that point, so I did have my 5.5 and thought I was done.
Then, while bored during Coronavirus, I came across biggerpockets and was convinced that it was a great time to refinance and buy as much as possible. We're now up to 37 doors and a part owner in another small business. We have property managers and don't run the small business, so my workload is minimal.
Of course I keep an eye on the market, but finding anything for a guy like me would be way too much work. I can't compete with the actual pros and only buy when the market makes it absolutely obvious that I should. I'm back to dormant and waiting for the next obvious opportunity, should it present itself. I love Psalm 37:7. I know it's not the exact meaning, but I'm a big fan of "Be still..." if you don't know what your next move is.
No need to be obsessed
For me the reason I do it is 5 years down the line I will start working part time on my w2 and get more into real estate like maybe as a private lender and also doa few flips and a few joint venture deals
Intention is to not have the 9 to 5 ratrace etc and also work from anywhere
No need to be obsessed
For me the reason I do it is 5 years down the line I will start working part time on my w2 and get more into real estate like maybe as a private lender and also doa few flips and a few joint venture deals
Intention is to not have the 9 to 5 ratrace etc and also work from anywhere
Thank you, John. So how are you doing it? If the goal is to be working part-time in your W-2 five years down the line, how are you getting there today? I'd like to know your plans for long-distance flips, that you could do from anywhere. How's it working now, how do you see it working in the future?
Good morning
It is working well.I expect to buy 8 houses in next 5 years
After that I will start flipping but I am sorry you mistook me
My flips will be local:)
I mean I would oversee the flips with help of a joint venture deal
I'm a teacher so I value my free time above all else (except for God and family, of course). My original goal was to buy 5 rentals and have them paid off by the time I retired. However, market manipulation has presented a couple of opportunities to me since 2009, so I've ended up with more than I expected.
So, I started buying between 2009-2012, which was a few years earlier than I wanted (I was hoping my wife would be back to work after raising the kids through kinder and we'd have two incomes). However, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up for obvious reasons. My brother and I bought 11 SFR at that point, so I did have my 5.5 and thought I was done.
Then, while bored during Coronavirus, I came across biggerpockets and was convinced that it was a great time to refinance and buy as much as possible. We're now up to 37 doors and a part owner in another small business. We have property managers and don't run the small business, so my workload is minimal.
Of course I keep an eye on the market, but finding anything for a guy like me would be way too much work. I can't compete with the actual pros and only buy when the market makes it absolutely obvious that I should. I'm back to dormant and waiting for the next obvious opportunity, should it present itself. I love Psalm 37:7. I know it's not the exact meaning, but I'm a big fan of "Be still..." if you don't know what your next move is.
@Chris John
That sounds wonderful. 37 doors, part-owner in another business, and not all your time is spent on making sure your property managers don't steal you blind. It turns out you were dead right on refinancing and acquiring during COVID.
Are you still teaching at 37 doors?
Well, only half of the 37 doors are mine, but yeah, still teaching. Thanks.
@Jim K. - I absolutely enjoy real estate. It has the enjoyment of a hobby, but I also treat it like my second career/job given the amount of time and effort I spend on it. But it can not replace the income opportunity my primary job creates; plus, I use disposable income from my primary job to fund my real estate investments.
"Ultimately, does anyone really ever set out to do real estate as a minor part of their life's ambitions and succeed in it as a side hustle that they spend a carefully limited amount of their time and energy on?" - the answer is yes, that's exactly what I am doing myself.
@Jim K.
Hi Jim, I am one of those part time in real estate who has no plan to go in the field full time. Mind you, I love real estate, but it’s not my only passion.
Both my husband and I are full time employed professionals and we both like handy work on the side . We don’t touch electrical, HVAC and plumbing projects, we don’t build new structures, but we can do quite a lot on our own; including tile work, drywall work, flooring, kitchen, any finish work essentially. That allows renovations with quite small budgets.
We don’t have time for off market hunt, nor do I pretend to be the kind of sophisticated investor like Don or Jay here, but then they are in a different league. I have had good experience with probate properties, grandma house which family doesn’t want to deal with and bringing it to contemporary style. Sometime we move in, renovate and sell after couple of years. Other times renovate to rent.
If by the time of retirement I have 10-15 income producing properties on top of my 401K I would be very happy. But no plans to quit my job asap.
And since I don’t post much, allow me to say that I find a lot of your post very interesting Jim. This forum would be much more full without you.
Well thank you, Nino!
I just have a couple questions: how do you typically get your hands on probate properties? For a while, we used an agent who was in the right age group in the region, and we still own some of the pocket listings he sold us (including the home I live in). We learned that a LOT of people are willing to get rid of their father's or mother's home for a song because they can't come up with the tax money to keep it.
I would say we do much the same sort of thing these days but our focus is shifting to finding small multifamily where the landlord just doesn't want to go on with what he has.