So there I was...24 years old with a fancy new job in Washington DC as a Management Consultant. A couple of months go by and panic sets in, "am I going to have to do this for the rest of my life? 40 years is a long time" I had to figure out a better path. I set out on a 2 year journey to "retire" from corporate America.
Here's how I did it:
1. I invested $10,000 into the purchase of a triplex in Hagerstown, MD and also co-signed for the loan since my business partner had just left his salaried income to be a full time real estate agent. We spent every weekend for a few months at this house renovating it with our own hands. We later refinanced this property for $272,000 and pulled out more cash than we originally put into it. This now cash flows over $1000 a month.
2. I purchased a duplex in Hagerstown, MD. I bought this property for $98,000 using a conventional mortgage and 25% down. The property brings in a monthly revenue of $1650/month and leaves $814 in free cash flow after all expenses.
3. I got my real estate license and committed to selling 5+ million in real estate while still working my full time job
4. I purchased a 4 bed/2 bath house in Annapolis, MD for me to live in while renting out the remaining rooms. I moved into the basement office and added a bathroom for myself in the basement so that I could receive rental income from all 4 rooms on the main floors.
5. In a partnership with my best friend, we purchased and renovated a duplex in Baltimore MD using privately raised capital. We then refinanced into a 25 year loan with a community bank, paid back our investors plus their interest, and hold this property for a monthly free cash flow of $1000.
6. In the same partnership with my best friend, we purchased another triplex in Baltimore MD using hard money and privately raised capital. We renovated, refinanced, and rent it for a monthly free cash flow of $1050.
7. Still holding the full time job, I purchased a single family home in Baltimore, MD at an auction. Using hard money, a small HELOC from my house hack, a 0% interest credit card, and the cash I had earned from selling real estate, I completed a full gut renovation on this house. I purchased for $89,000, put $135,000 of work into it, and cash out refinanced 80% of the loan value on a valuation of $335,000. The basement is a 1 bed/1bath apartment that I rent on AirBnb and net roughly $1000/month of income from leaving my out of pocket expenses at $800/month for the rest of the house.
8. In the partnership with my best friend, we purchased 5 more units that we renovated, rented, and refinanced.
9. I cut the cord on corporate America and now serve as the lead buyers agent based out of Baltimore, MD. I enjoy helping buyers find house hacks and their own cash flowing rental properties.
From the beginning, my goal was to cover my expenses plus a little bit more on top so that I could move comfortably away from a salaried job to my life as an agent and investor - and that is what I have accomplished so far.
