Last week I was travelling across Europe with my wife and kids flying first class from country to country. We went from Germany where we spent time getting served by folks in lederhosen and over to Scotland where I went to a few Scotch distilleries testing some various choice Highlands and Speysides… what an amazing trip! We passed through Paris and took a helicopter tour of the city and had an amazing view of the Eifel Tower. We went to Poland and visited Auschwitz (amazing!) where my 8-year-old son asked, “what happened here, daddy?” Right then I knew we needed to continue travelling the world and showing our kids what really matters in life: time with your family while learning and experiencing the world while sharing the blessings we have with as many people as we can.
Now, I have a confession, I didn’t actually make that trip… last week I was stuck working a lot of hours on a TDY away from my family. I worked about 95 hours and I barely even talked to my family let alone enjoy travelling with them or teaching the kiddo anything (he is actually 3 by the way). Weeks like last week are why I will succeed in real estate. Weeks like last week are what motivate me to work hard and push through. Weeks like last week remind me that weeks, like I described above, are on the horizon!
This fictitious week I created is something I would love to do and it WILL happen. I will bounce around when the kids are not in school and enjoy the time I can spend with them; seeing the world and teaching them everything I can in the short time I have been blessed with to mold and mentor them. My family means the world to me and they are what motivate me to continue working hard for what we want and need. Right now while I am on active duty, real estate needs to be a focus and I need to build my portfolio so when it’s time to transition my passive income is set! Nothing can stop me because my family is always there to remind me what I will miss out on! THEM!!!
So what is it about real estate, and multifamily in particular, that made me think that was going to get me to that imaginary trip and the continued time with my family? Why should I go that direction rather than any other form of investing or business? To me, seeing all the data made sense. There are more millionaires made from real estate than any other business; the properties bring passive income (when purchased right); I get to provide a place to live for hundreds of people; I provide jobs to my community; I get to work my own hours; and so much more! Sure, this all does not happen in the first 6 months of investing, but it happens as soon as you reasonably want it to based on your work ethic and network. This is not an easy path but it is possible for anyone to walk along.
Just like most of you, I started looking at single family homes as a great real estate investment and, because I like data and planning things out, I calculated how many of these properties I would need to become financially free. It was about 75-100 (roughly 100-150/door in cashflow to get 10K a month). That seemed pretty crazy to me when I thought about the fact I needed to have 100 roofs, ~150 toilets spread out all over, 100 driveways, etc… So I kept researching and I realized if I were to buy a couple apartment buildings (or 1 if I did it right and found the right one) I could have the same effect with only 3-4 roofs, 3-4 driveways, an onsite maintenance person, and an onsite manager who handles all my problems without having to travel from house to house. When it is time to replace the filters I only have to send maintenance out to a couple properties rather than work a huge schedule for them to hit all 100 houses. What was there not to love about this?
Oh ya… I can’t buy an apartment building! I have never done this! This is too overwhelming! I don’t know anything!
LIMITING BELIEFS! I was just limiting myself based on what I knew at the time. Napoleon Hill said in his book Think and Grow Rich “There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge. Both poverty and riches are the offspring of thought.” So now what are my thoughts? Sure, I can and so can you! With education came confidence and with confidence came networking and with networking came partners who were in this business and rocking it. Some of those guys and gals I met in the REI business started with less money than me and they had full-time jobs as well. What makes me different than them? Nothing! I can do it just like they did and you can do it just like I can. Whether starting with a 100 unit complex or a duplex… starting is starting and we can all do that!
ADPI has so many great people and educational videos to get you into the real estate investment world. We are here to show you some huge goals you can accomplish and give you the tools you need to accomplish those goals! The way I chose to earn my passive income was multifamily but there are so many other niches you can choose: single family; du/tri/quadplex; hotels; Air B&B; mobile home parks/communities; triple net leases; etc. We want you to find what works best for you and become an expert in that field! Don’t just bounce from one to the next… know the WHY behind your choice in investing and know the WHY behind your choice of that specific niche. Remember those whys every time you want to change to another niche. You chose this path for a reason so stick with it and become an expert in it.
And of course, by all means, if you have questions about anything please reach out to us!
About the Author: This is Adam’s first of many blog posts. He is an Active Duty officer in the U.S. Air Force and travels the world (both on official orders and leave) with his wife and kid. He loves real estate and can’t stop talking about it with everyone he meets. Multifamily investing and education is where he is focused and he wants to show you all just how easy it can be to get into multifamily. He can help you answer almost any question you have on the topic and he wants you to ask them! Please let him know what you think of this blog post and share some of your stories as well!
DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Government, or any other group or individual.
