It's mostly a joke.I think it did good - the influencer who opines regularly on cap rates, interest rates, the Fed, inflation, and is generally an economist, or even a bit of a philosopher, probably does alright! 

We have the full gambit from 1) finding and buying the right property in the right locations to 2) professional execution of the design to 3) discounted property management services.  

You didn't mention the interest rates but 3 years ago, I am going to assume it was much better than it is now.

I am a resident physician in dermatology, during  medical school I bought a property in Denver with an Interest rate of 2.75% (COVID rates lol) with the goals of renting it out when I moved onto the residency.

I got a reasonable discount on the purchase price, and it has made me a good amount of money over the years.

With me not being on the duplex as a co signer it is rasisijg the interest rate 2% higher than what the average rate is or has been going for.

Quote from @Kaushik Sarkar: I’m exploring strategies to scale my real estate portfolio given the current mortgage rate Not sure much makes sense at 11%...Ouch....tough enough at 7.5%   Might have to put more than 20% down to finance....maybe 30% in North Texas.   

and 5 years is a long window for things to change in ways we don't expect (lower interest rates maybe??).

This works with any type of appreciating property such as real estate, stocks, etcDepending on the appreciation rate, you can potentially see asset values double every 7-14 years.Likely around 7 years if the appreciation rate is 8%Likely around 14 years if the appreciation rate is 4%If you buy something for $100,000 and it appreciates to $200,000, you can potentially take a loan on the $100,000 appreciation which would not be considered a taxable event.However, be mindful that you are paying interest on the loan and you have to payback the loan but yes, it would not add on to your taxable income.

Especially in today's high interest rate environment, a low income buyer is usually going to be better off renting than buying.