I started my real estate empire (two buildings!!)

Have lived in Laguna for many years, worked OC real estate, and there are no more Lagunas on tap either.At Strategic (in Agoura Hills, cover SoCal from SD to SB & Inland Empire), where I work, we concentrate on buying distressed properties at auction (second biggest buyer in SoCal), and, after many decades, have made our "mistakes" long ago.

Again, something you can't easily get without owning the equity.I buy mostly in the Inland Empire, which is closer to me in OC than it is to the Valley.  

@Leigh C having another person build my empire for me is un acceptable in my standards.

., inland empire). 

Building up a real estate empire is a fantastic idea in theory, but in practice unless you're incredibly lucky, you'll be better off putting it in some sort of truly passive investment, like Redfin stock.I believe MOST people here do not realize how problematic real estate investing can be, the degree to which luck plays, how little is truly within one's control, and how inefficient and illiquid the real estate market is. 

I'm in the Inland Empire area, but I've been going to REI meetings in Long Beach once a month, or as often as I could.

"The Founder" movie is the most subtle Real Estate Investing movie but probably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, strategies for building the biggest Real Estate empire.

I will say that empirically, the time involved and convenience of building is unmatched by standard methods.

My short term goal is a BMW, although would like to grow my real estate empire to the point where it would be equal if not greater than the income I will receive from industrial engineering.