Six Units Before my 22nd Birthday - Goal of 100 by 27

[Axel Ragnarsson]

Hey everyone,

A few weeks ago I hit an exciting personal milestone and wanted to share it with all you great folks here on BP. In the beginning of September, I closed on another three unit property in Manchester, NH. The purchase price was 250k, and current rents are $3,600 a month. My portfolio now consists of a total of six units (two triplexes), both acquired in the last six months and all before my 22nd birthday. 

If it wasn't for the BP forums and podcasts I would not have been able to get started and have so much confidence early in my investing career. Being so young, creative financing is the only avenue in which I can purchase real estate, and the resources on BP have been invaluable in understanding how many different financing options there are. For all the young members - It IS possible to buy real estate despite having minimal income and no history in the business.. It just takes a lot more time and effort. When I turned 21 I set a goal that I wanted to acquire 100 units by my 27th birthday, and I feel that if I continue to grow and scale my business that it is becoming achievable! 

[Account Closed]

@Axel Ragnarsson Great to see some other young investors out there getting after it! I'm a 22 year old grad student getting my Master's in Accounting and I got started by buying a primary residence in April 2014 putting 10% down and renting out to 3 roommates and cash flowed $400/mo and lived rent free (helped me pay for my half that I had to pay for college). After that worked so well, I decided to buy another with 5% down and keep the first as a rental and rent the next one out to roommates as well (June 2015)(I did have co-signers for the loans, but converting primary residences into rentals is in my opinion the best way to get started in real estate investing! Can't beat the low down payments and amazing rates from primary residence mortgages!) In December 2015 I partnered with my parents on a house and then another in January 2016. I decided I needed to get my real estate license which was such a great decision as it gave me an edge on finding deals and we then used a HELOC on their primary residence as well as cash out refinancing a rental they owned outright to finance down payments for additional houses and are now up to 15 houses (my 2 plus the 13 we partnered on). $1.95MM in property, $324k annual rent, 15% avg cap rate, $104k CF after about $20k in down payment financing costs. $330k cash to put in service (300k of which is really just other loans) 92% LTV right now...gotta love leverage. We plan on buying about 7-10 or so more in the next 6-9 months before we'll probably be tapped out of cash.

I'm a Realtor and would love to talk with any investors who have a legitimate interest. I have a great property management company that I work with who I am going to hand some of my own properties over to to manage (I've been doing it all myself thus far). I would also consider potential equity partners after lots of conversation, as much like Alex, I don't have a whole lot of income history to obtain all the financing on my own.

Alex I think your goal of 100 units by 27 is definitely reaching for the starts, but I myself have a similar goal but was thinking more like 35... This is my first time posting on BiggerPockets, but after reading your story Alex, I decided to share my own. It's been an incredible journey to say the least. Thanks!