I started investing in real estate in 2002. Actually, my wife and I bought our first house in 1999 but wouldn’t consider that an investment. Many people consider their house to be the biggest investment they have in life. My wife and I just wanted to quit paying rent so that is why we decided to buy.
I wouldn’t say it was a great love to own a house for me. I had always done yard and maintenance work while growing up and working in our family-owned grocery business. I looked at the upkeep on a house as a necessary evil.
I had reluctantly become a property manager for my dad when he inherited a couple of rental properties when my grandfather passed away. I hated every minute of it. Collecting rent, fixing clogged toilets, cleaning and painting when tenants moved out proved very frustrating and unrewarding.
I found myself in a real estate seminar in 2002 and realized the property didn’t have to be fun or interesting to be a good investment. We just had to do property as a business that we worked on, rather than worked in.
We started buying rental properties and realized that it could be a means to an end. Since 2002 we have bought many properties using multiple strategies with varying results. Some strategies are more lucrative and some more satisfying. However, the reason I got into property was for the ability to show a lucrative portfolio so that hopefully someone would listen to what I had to say.
I remember telling a fellow team member who wanted to be a trainer/speaker what I felt was the best advice. The coveted position was best achieved by becoming the best investor you could become and then people wouldn’t have a choice but to listen to you.
I have been blessed to now have taught thousands of students in many countries because I became a solid investor first. Then I had value to share so that I could help others get what they wanted while the entire time getting to do what I wanted to do. Not so much to be a real estate investor but become a real estate trainer.
You’re Gunna be Alriiight.