Met my $100k cash flow goal!

[Amy A.]

A few years ago I set a goal of $100k of rental cash flow per year. This month (it's only Sept!) I made it! Started in 2007 with a 5 unit, another 5 unit in 2008. Tried to sell around 2010 due to frustrating tenants, thank goodness they didn't sell! Added a SFH in 2012, a 5 unit and 4 unit in 2013, and a 12 unit in 2014. Did tons of capex in 2015, and now have met the goal in 2016!

I earned my down payments by fixing and flipping foreclosures.  I have done 17.  Now I realize my goal was too small and am under contract to develop a mixed use commercial property and purchased another 4 unit this year.  These will be professionally managed as I give up management duties of the portfolio little by little.

Of course, I couldn't do this without my husband who is the "second set of eyes" on the numbers and is my (often reluctant) emergency plumber.  We always agree before we purchase anything, except for one foreclosure that I bought online, but he wasn't mad when we made $37k.

[Account Closed]

Congratulations, $100,000 a year net is pretty good. No doubt you work very hard to make that, we have some associates in Baltimore flipping properties at public auction making between 30 and $50,000 per month. I know you're working hard taking care of  your portfolio. You deserve a lot of credit.

[Monica Dixon]

Nice! 

[Amy Osterberg]

Congrats!

[Westley Bachmeyer]

Living the dream!

[Rico S.]

@Amy A.

Good morning Amy,

What a wonderful story and thank you for sharing! Congrats on meeting your goal! So from your post that will put you around 32 units, is that correct? What made you get started and what helped you take the plunge in 2007?

Best Regards, 

Rico

[Chris Itotia]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Congratulations, $100,000 a year net is pretty good. No doubt you work very hard to make that, we have some associates in Baltimore flipping properties at public auction making between 30 and $50,000 per month. I know you're working hard taking care of  your portfolio. You deserve a lot of credit.

 @Charles_Parrish how can I get in on that game of flipping here in Baltimore public auctions

[Amy A.]

@Rico S.  Yes, 32 units.  I recently purchased 4 more, but those are not included in the income calculation.  I started buying because it made economic sense.  I sold my primary home in 2006 and needed to invest the profit in something.  I had lost some money in stock in the tech crash.  Not a lot, but enough to teach me a lesson.  I wanted an investment that I could control, and real estate was perfect.  I knew it would not be passive at first, but still give me some flexibility to work around my children's schedules.   I guess in that sense it's not purely an investment, but a job as well, and I'm okay with that.

[Marci Stein]

Amy-- I notice you are a broker--do you think that is very helpful in reaching your goal? would someone like me find it harder since I'm not an agent?

[Jill DeWit]

@Amy A.

Love to hear how many folks did not believe you could do this. I hear all the time that people do not believe it is possible and you just did it!

CONGRATS!!!

[Omar Ismael]

Congrats on your success Amy

[Ujwal Velagapudi]

Congrats on the milestone!! I have the same goal as well before the end of the year, very close!

@Amy A. Do you plan on transitioning any other activities off to a 3rd party company or hire employees in order to scale the rental business even more? Like accounting, property management of entire portfolio, marketing, etc.? 

[Amy A.]

@Marci Stein I purchased my first two buildings with a broker.  He sent me the listings and disclosures and did showings.  However, he didn't know anything about the numbers or how to calculate capitalization rates.

@Jill DeWit Very many people who have never seen my buildings call me "slumlord".  I also know many who failed as landlords and think that everybody does (I almost did!).  However, I'm not telling any friends how much money I make, that's a good way to lose friends or make the wrong ones!

@Ujwal Velagapudi Yes, a 4 unit building I recently bought has a property management co.  I did a lot to vet them and am happy so far.  I find that right after acquisition the management is hardest,  so I let them have it from the date of closing and the tenants don't know me (but it's hard not to stop by and work!)  I have tried hiring an employee, but found that payroll paperwork was a big pain (who knew the gov't. made it so hard to hire people legally?) and keeping him working was hard - he took a LOT of breaks when I was away.  I was relieved when he moved away.

[Travis Lauchman]

Well done! You deserve a drink and whatever else your nearly $10k/mo passive income affords you!

[THU NGUYEN]

That's so inspiring!!!!  Thank you for sharing.  

[Mike Dymski]

Your story would make a good podcast.

[Account Closed]

Congratulations, Amy!  Will you and your husband be at the next SMREIA in Scarborough?  

[Amy A.]

@Account Closed maybe, I'll check Facebook to confirm the date.  Wednesdays are pretty hard for me.

[John Mills]

Congrats on reaching your goal. Reward yourself with something special for the achievement then buckle down and work on the next goal! very inspiring.

[Andy Gross]

Great work @Amy A.! Where are you investing? My family takes a vacation near Portland every year, and I keep telling them to look at stuff in Munjoy Hill. That way, they can make a portion of their vacation tax-deductible.

[Amy A.]

@Marci Stein I just realized I didn't completely answer your question. Yes, it is helpful for me to be a broker because I have quick access to new MLS listings and can use all the research tools the MLS has. I also get paid the buyer's agent portion of the commission, which can cover closing costs. However, my traditional lender will not allow it to simply be a credit, I have to bring a check and take home a check.

I've been trying to figure out how to remove my broker title from BP for months, but don't think it's worth bothering the admin team about.  I no longer practice brokerage for other people because I hate it, but that's a topic for another post!

[Amy A.]

@Andy Gross a bit north of Portland, but am looking to buy some further south.  Portland doesn't cash flow well at current list prices.

[Franklin McGuire]

That's awesome @Amy A.! I'm just getting started so your story is inspiring. Thanks for sharing!

[Evan Thoma]

@Amy A. Very inspirational story. I'm sure I speak for a lot of us when I say the first $100,000 is the hardest. Be sure to keep us updated as you grow your portfolio. While plumbing is simply never fun, realizing that you have $100,000 in passive income is a great thing to wake up to every morning. Not to mention that YOU built up this empire, no one handed it to you. You've already made some of the hardest mistakes so hopefully the next $100,000 is a breeze compared to the first. Keep up the inspiring work Amy! 

[Ben Dao]

Very cool. Hard work pays off. But you got to pay the price in advanced

[Bernard Antwi]

@Amy A. Congrats!! I can't imagine your joy when you finally reached that goal. Just reading your post has inspired me to be patient and grind it out as my first acquisition is taking months to close.