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Updated 3 days ago on . Most recent reply
#4 All Forums Contributor
- Rental Property Investor
- Mine Hill, NJ
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Retired at 34 with 5 Kids Thanks to 3 House Hacks—Here’s How I Left My $147K Job
#4 All Forums Contributor
- Rental Property Investor
- Mine Hill, NJ
This is the story of how we – a family of seven on a single income – house-hacked our way from $0 to $3 million in real estate in less than 10 years, and how just three properties bring in $275k/year in gross rental income.
In 2015, at age 25, after renting ($500/month) a bedroom at my parents’ house for two years, my wife and I closed on our first real estate purchase: a four-family in Garfield, NJ (12 bed / 4 bath) for $430,000.
That one decision changed everything.
The purchase allowed us to live for free—and gave my wife the financial freedom to leave her teaching job and stay home with our then 6-month-old son.
Two years later, in 2017, we did a cash-out refi and bought a three-family in North Arlington, NJ—FSBO for $350,000 off Craigslist.
Two years after that, in 2019, we used a HELOC from the North Arlington property to buy a four-family in Lyndhurst, NJ for $620,000.
We’ve renovated nearly every unit in those three properties ourselves. So when Elon and Trump offered a federal employee buyout, I knew it was time. I walked away from a 13-year government career that had taken me from $50K to $147K.
Here's the kicker: these three properties generate a combined $120,000 in net income. We're incredibly frugal, so that's more than enough to achieve our financial independence.
Now, we're a stay-at-home family, planning to worldschool our five children. Leaving my career was a huge decision, but the freedom is indescribable.
I've only had the golden hand-cuffs off for a month, but it is truly liberating... I've taught my 5-year-old daughter to ski and my 3-year-old son to ride a bike. I'm finally able to pursue my passions, and every day feels like a breath of fresh air.
My hope is that our story inspires you to save strategically, invest consistently, and prioritize buying your freedom. It's possible—even with a big family!
Most Popular Reply
#2 Real Estate Success Stories Contributor
- Realtor
- Boulder, CO
Congrats on being able to look on the bright side because most people would be panicking in your situation (losing their job with 5 young kids and only 3 properties/ not much income).
I was in your position at around your age but with only one kid. We travelled for around 9 months doing the van life thing then I got bored and starting working again simply in order to have more of a sense of purpose. I also realized that life was a lot more expensive than I had budgeted for, and some big capex issues came up with our properties that would have been too expensive to deal with remotely, and traveling with even just one kid dirt-bag style was not nearly as much fun as it was when I had done it for a few years after college before kids.
A wise relative told me I should have at least $10M in the bank if I really wanted to fully retire that early (with one kid). I laughed at the time because that sounds like a lot of money to a young person who is frugal. But he was serious, and he was right.
Are you accounting for capex in your calculations? I see maintenance but no capex. Also don’t see any vacancy/ loss. These numbers look very optimistic honestly. Even if everything goes well, some years you will still be negative due to capex issues or vacancy/ loss issues that always seem to strike all at once. Budget accordingly! Money will not always flow out of these properties, sometimes it will have to flow in and you will need to draw on your cash reserves.
Also not sure how you’ll be able to live off of $120k/ yr. with a family of 7, especially while traveling. We are a family of 5, we take a few big trips a year but definitely not trying to travel full time, and our annual budget is A LOT more. Not just a little bit. A LOT.
Kids get more and more expensive as they get older, so do properties, and people tend to enjoy a higher-end lifestyle as they get older as well. You may not want to live as frugally as you are now forever. According to my math, you need to be budgeting around $2M bare minimum to get these kids to 18, then 5 college tuitions on top of that. That’s not including your own living expenses, or saving for retirement.
Honestly I wouldn’t quit working in your position unless you have about $10M bare minimum in the bank in a high-interest savings account or invested very conservatively in blue chip stocks/ bonds. $30M would be much more comfortable!