Story of an "investor"

[Maria Tan]

Just want to share my story.

Twelve years ago, we purchased our 1st home using FHA loan. After 7 years, bought another house in adjacent neighborhood (better schools) with conventional loan. Had the 1st home refinanced from 6.5% to 3.5% and turned it into a rental which cash flows $550/monthly. In 2014, purchased a condo in Austin for our daughter who will be studying at UT (didn't want to pay rent). After 2 years, gained about 40K equity because of crazy Austin market.

Early this year, husband and I decided that we want to retire in Austin, hopefully in 7 years. Thinking that if we wait 7 years, we won't be able to afford a SFH in Austin, we decided to take the plunge and purchase a SFH in Northwest Austin in a neighborhood that is in "transition." This SFH is now a rental and just breaks even.

I recently joined Biggerpockets and reading the stories, it dawned on me that I can consider myself a real estate "investor".  When my husband and I started purchasing properties, the goal was not really to invest but to respond to changes in our lives (eg. children need to go to better schools, child going to college, retirement, etc.).  We were extremely lucky because we did everything without much education, and mistakes were relatively small and manageable.

My husband and I decided that 4 properties is enough and owning more properties seems to be a scary prospect.  So right now, I just enjoy reading success stories of people who are into real estate investing head on and at the same time learn from their experiences.

However, I still find myself checking real estate sites and looking at properties for sale.  I guess I haven't eradicated the real estate buying "bug".