Why I Chose Real Estate

After graduating from the University of Central Missouri with a Bachelors degree in criminal justice, I quickly realized that just working a 9-5 was not going to cut it. I had just purchased a house and then went off to Ranger School for the military. Once I finished Ranger School, I started wanting another stream of income that would allow me to do the things I wanted. So like most people that get into real estate investing, I started reading everything I could get ahold of. I was never a big reader but I knew that this was information I wouldn't learn from a college class and needed to absorb what other people had written. The first book I read was Investing in Duplex's, Triplex's and Quads by Larry Loftis. Although this book was written back in 2006, it had a lot of great information that ultimately led me to sell the house I had just bought and move into a fourplex. I lived in one of the smaller units and rented out the other three. This did a lot of key things to the start of my real estate career.

First, I was able to really understand ROI. I utilized the VA Home Loan to purchase this property. So I was able to get the property with zero down and I was able to live for free! My return was infinite at that point because it took me nothing to start making a profit.

Second, doing this allowed me to ease into property management and learn as I went. Now as I look to hire a property manager in the near future, I am really able to understand what all the entails. I will be able to identify a good property manager instead of shooting in the dark because I understand the business.

Lastly, this move has snowballed my real estate career. Since that point, I now control eight doors in eight months and am looking for my next house hack, which may be in my backyard if things work out!