HOW REAL ESTATE CHANGED MY LIFE

I could barely read almost my entire life. I could barely get through a normal sentence until 8th grade, and I never read a full book cover to cover until I was 28.

I was 27 when I had just gotten what others would call a "great job", as the Food & Beverage Manager at a world-renowned golf resort. My Salary was about $70k a year with full benefits for myself, my wife (girlfriend at the time), and my daughter, I got a discount at all of the companies locations, and I got a whole 5 days a year paid vacation and 5 unpaid. Most people would have been happy in this position.

I was absolutely miserable, I hated going to work every day, I got no gratification from my work, and there was a hopeless and or depression about me that all could see. I thought why am I working so hard for nothing, what is the end goal? I would look at the Resorts General Manager, a position the company touted like it was becoming a made man in the mob, 'If you work here 30 years in middle management you could someday be GM you can make up to $135k/year, with 20 paid vacation days!'

That sounded absolutely awful to me, ABSOLUTELY AWFUL, not to mention this was in California where the take-home pay after taxes is like $.37 on the dollar.

So that is where I was depressed, unmotivated, and becoming more and more self-loathing. I was close to reaching rock bottom in my life, I had begun drinking more and more, and pushing away my loved ones. I stopped working out and was just unhealthy. I knew I had to make a change in my life, I just did not know what it was.

One day when I was killing the clock at work on Instagram, I saw an old friend from high school had posted the heading of the first chapter of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, "The Rich Don't Work for Money". I was so intrigued, what did that even mean!? I had wanted to be rich my whole life and I had never ever thought I would ever climb out of the Middle-Class.

I could barely read almost my entire life. I could barely get through a normal sentence until 8th grade, and I never read a full book cover to cover until I was 28. But I had always been very intelligent, I am great on all tests, and my audible retention is off the charts. Before dropping out ( 5 or 6 times) I did much better in my college classes than I did in high school because of this phenomenon. I realized I could just sit in front of my classes and pay close attention to the lecture, and I could retain 95% of the information without taking any notes. This was awesome! I could listen and talk my ways to As, well in most classes anyways hence the drop out lol.

After seeing my friend's post from Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I knew I had to read that book. I had always heard for years that is the book to read to get rich, but I could barely read, let alone retain the information off a page so what was the point? But whatever I had been doing clearly had not gotten me to where I wanted to be in life. So I figured what the heck maybe listening to an audiobook is better than no books at all. So I signed up for Audible, and listen to Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

I was hooked on Real Estate, I knew Real Estate was the answer I had been searching for. I listened to all of the Rich Dad series books, I called my friend who was a Realtor in the area and asked him what I have to do to get my Real Estate license, then I signed up for my classes that day. I looked up all the posted jobs for Real Estate positions and applied with a local property management company as an hourly part-time assistant. I got the assistant job with the PM company and instantly quit the salaried job that I hated. I burned my boats and was going all-in on Real Estate.

The owners of the property management company were the coolest guys and I very much looked up to them. They were only a few years older than me, but they were successful Investors and Business owners, both of which I was aspiring to be. They turned me on to BiggerPockets.com, the ultimate online resource for Real Estate Investors, and showed me the world of Real Estate Investing. What I learned in property management before becoming a Realtor and Investor was invaluable.

I left property management to become a Realtor and Full Time Real Estate Investor. I had just purchased my first Property in Ybor City and started Dolan Capital Inc. my Real Estate Investment Company.

What is Dolan Capital Inc.?

We are a Real Estate Investment company operating in both the Tampa Bay, & Houston MSAs.

We acquire, upgrade, and manage Residential-Commercial Real Estate in class B and C neighborhoods.

We are looking for Garden Style Apartment Building with 8 to 30 Units with Value-Add opportunities.

In non-jargon, we buy apartment buildings in need of some TLC in up-and-coming neighborhoods. We fix up the exterior of the building as well as all units, to a level that the tenants of the building can take pride in.

Then we properly manage the building which increases the quality of tenants, which improves the area overall, which raises property values and the overall quality of communities.

I love Real Estate because it is really fulfilling, I am able to help so many people in what I do. We help tenants by giving them high-quality housing, we help communities by upgrading buildings and attracting high-quality tenants, and we help our Investors by proving them with handsome returns.

But most of all it gives me the time to do the two most important things in my life, self-improvement and spending time with my family. Both of which give me the proper mindset to be a successful Real Estate Investor.

I love what I do! I am the healthiest and happiest I have ever been in my life! I wake up every day feeling loved, grateful, and motivated. My life has taken a complete 180 from where I started. 

Oh! I must also mention my wife, who is responsible for my success more than anyone, she is my rock and without her, I would be nothing.