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So I suppose I was lucky to start so young. I got a part time job in high school which helped me to understand the real estate market.

I have several properties now and have learned how to invest in real estate, rent out property and am pretty much retired. It sounds weird to say it because that word usually belongs to old people.

Anyway, I always get asked how I did it. I just did it. I wasn't afraid to work hard and give up some niceties to get to where I wanted to be.

I would highly recommend this form of investing. I tried stock market, govt funds, working my ass off and none were so productive.

That is just my experience. But it has worked well for me.

Money can't buy happiness but it sure gives you a lot of freedom.

The background of BnA is about to change from blueish/gray to green with envy...

The point of this post is not to make anyone jealous...its to show you how easy it is. If I can do it, then anyone can.

Jealous? Oh really.

You got lucky (and made us all envious ), but not everybody will. So here's the obligatory note of caution.

Investing in property (well, a flat) sounded like a great idea when I was finishing my degree in St. Andrews. Even though it wasn't likely that we would find a permanent position there (that's academia for you), it should be easy to rent the place out in a student town.

It was, but only for about a year.

For some reason, we couldn't find new tenants after that. There weren't any colleagues looking for a place to stay that summer and good luck trying to rent out to undergrads that time of year. We were both in high-stress contract positions in the South of England (paying two sets of rent), and couldn't go back there to recruit new tenants ourselves, and the letting agents let us down. Long story short: we were forced to sell--at a loss, because a big new development in the neighbourhood had swamped the market. Needless to say, house prices went through the roof about a year later and continue to rise. But by then we no longer had any credit to take advantage of it.

So, it can go wrong as well as right. It's OK if you have enough of a financial cushion to bridge any disasters or tenants defaulting, but there are always risks involved.

Just sayin'.

Luck: When preparation meets opportunity.

There is certainly risk involved as there is with most financial ventures. I suppose I thought ahead to make sure these kinds of issues did not knock me down. I had insurance, worked hard to have a financial cushion just in case, and had other investments in the interm before I was sure I could rely solely on the properties.

You know, it perplexes me when people say I "got lucky". It was a lot of hard work and sacrifice. If I am lucky, then it is to be born healthy in a developed country. I seldom attribute success to luck.

Whalewatcher: I am sorry you had a bad experience with your first try at investing in property. I too had bad tenants, bad property managers, and bad roofs. But I learned from the whole thing which is why I am where I am now. I would caution you to not give up. If you are interested in this form of living, then it is worth the initial effort. IMHO.

So if one wanted to do what you are doing, then where should we get started?

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Luck: When preparation meets opportunity.

Opportunity being the key word here. You have to remember you did have the opportunity to be part of one of the greatest housing booms in history. I would state that people trying to get into the rental property business now certainly don’t have the opportunity that you did. Doesn’t matter how prepared they are, their return on investment is unlikely to skyrocket as fast as yours did. In some countries just putting aside the money necessary for stamp duty these days will be prohibitive enough to get into the market.

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If I am lucky, then it is to be born healthy in a developed country

It's more than just being fortunate to be born healthy in a developed country. There are market forces well beyond an individuals control that play a huge impact as well. It has more to do with which cycles your generation was born into. My grandparents for example. When they were ready to buy a house, housing was (relatively) insanely cheap. When they were ready to have a family, a one person income was all they needed to get by. And when they were ready to retire, in addition to having a guaranteed pension plan, interest rates were sky high allowing them to lock in ridiculous returns.

Now, I am not discrediting what you’ve done. I know people who’ve earned their financial security and I would never call them “lucky”. They made many sacrifices to get where they’re at just as I am sure you’ve made many sacrifices to get where you are at.

My point, "opportunity" comes in many forms. And it often cycles. Investment property isn't the cure-all, it has its downturns as well.

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Originally posted by halfnine:
You have to remember you did have the opportunity to be part of one of the greatest housing booms in history.

Interesting. I did not know that I am experiencing one of the biggest booms in history. Is that the history of my city or in the world?

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I would state that people trying to get into the rental property business now certainly don’t have the opportunity that you did.

Are you sure? Who are "people" and what country are you referring to? Are you implying that I experienced a rare phenomenon? I would have to disagree as I have watched the global markets for years and though there are ups and downs, the graphs will speak for themselves. Again, let us refer to supply and demand. More people, less space. You do the math.

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There are market forces well beyond an individuals control that play a huge impact as well.

True. This is why you must be intelligent and do your research. Nothing is guaranteed in this world. But hey, I knew it was a risk going in. I lost in the stock market so I know. In my experience, real estate seems to be less risky than many other investments that pay the same dividends.

I am not trying to sell you anything. I am just saying. This worked for me.

Just curious, what is your investment strategy? I would love to hear some ideas. Lets share the wealth of information.

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Originally posted by halfnine:
You have to remember you did have the opportunity to be part of one of the greatest housing booms in history.

It's interesting to see that Canada reflects the UK and (I think) Australia in this regard. It truly seems to be a global phenomenon.

In the UK--especially in the South, but increasingly country-wide--this is certainly the case. There was a similar, but smaller, boom in the Eighties and people I know who scrimped and saved to buy a flat back then, only to have to sell in the late nineties, encountered a curious phenomenon known as 'negative equity'. Kind of like I did in Scotland.

But this time, the bubble isn't bursting. I know a few mates who can basically retire on the proceeds of selling their council flats, which they inherited from their parents. Instead of doing that, a few invested in insanely big properties elsewhere in London and basically live on renting out part of these. They are lucky. People who enter the housing market now aren't. One of the reasons why I want to emigrate.

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Originally posted by whereshegoes:


Just curious, what is your investment strategy? I would love to hear some ideas. Lets share the wealth of information.

What was yours? In your first post you said people ask you all the time how you did it and you say you just did it. So, how did you do it?

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Originally posted by mikeheenan:

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Originally posted by whereshegoes:


Just curious, what is your investment strategy? I would love to hear some ideas. Lets share the wealth of information.

What was yours? In your first post you said people ask you all the time how you did it and you say you just did it. So, how did you do it?

There is a lot of info out there. Do some research on Real Estate Investing. Call a realtor and pick their mind. Go talk to a few banks. See an investment specialist. They are all there to help you and most of them should give you advice and much of it will be free.

Learn about your market (or the one you want to invest in) and find out what it will take. The start taking the steps towards making it happen.

Thanks... I'm 29, so retiring in a year will be unlikely However, I'm taking the first steps towards getting out of the "rat race", finally have my credit cards paid off, and have a nice chunk of change saved up, so I'm starting to read some books like Rich Dad, etc, to see what it's all about.

Well done Carmella. yes, hard work and good research help give one the best chance that a certain investment will work, but you can't ignore a healthy bit of luck in the equation.

Stocks were super hot in the late 90s, then they crashed. Half of the "experts" said we had a new economy that would just keep going up. The other half said we had a bubble and it would crash. Who could honestly say they knew at the time who was right? Hindsight now is the easy part.

I look at the historical prices of my parent's house in Washington DC as an example. It barely doubled from 1977 to 1997 (20 years). at the time it wasn't such a hot "investment." Then for the last 10 years it's gone up over 450% -- perhaps if someone looked at the numbers in 1997 they could have seen it was a favorable environment and seen an opportunity, but even so, nothing is certain.

I just read the real estate report for Dallas for 2006. The neighborhood that was "hottest" in 2005 lost 21% in 2006 -- even though last year's report said it would rise and be hot again. And an unassuming area of town that's been flat for years shot up 14% -- this is human psychology and luck at work. the neighborhood my house is in went up about 7-8% - which is fine by me.

I know someone in the midst of the mid-2000's boom who lost $55,000 -- over 30% -- on their house in Michigan. His employer, the largest in town, shut down suddenly and unexpectedly, thus killing the town and its real estate market.

My point is that real estate is *very* local. While I'm sure Carmella did her research and made excellent property choices in her area, you have to acknowledge there is still a lot of luck involved in real estate regarding forces out of your control.

Here's a guy who thought he was joining the boom: "I Am Facing Foreclosure" He attended some seminars and bought some houses, but now has negative equity to the tune of over half a million dollars.

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Originally posted by mikeheenan:

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Originally posted by whereshegoes:


Just curious, what is your investment strategy? I would love to hear some ideas. Lets share the wealth of information.

What was yours? In your first post you said people ask you all the time how you did it and you say you just did it. So, how did you do it?

Ask the same of people who are successful in other arenas, and they'll say much the same. They "just did it" -- or it "just happened" --

I lucked into my Navy flying career thanks to one phone call from someone who knew I was looking. I'd applied in 1994 and the metrics didn't work out, and I wasn't accepted. The hiring picture changed in 1995 and there was a very small window of opportunity where the Navy needed to hire about 20 extra pilots *today* -- an old college adviser called me, I re-applied, was hired, then the window closed.

Is that luck? Sure I'd worked hard to be qualified for the job, but there were dozens if not hundreds of equally or more qualified guys for the job, but I got it, thanks to a phone call from the right person at the right time. So maybe my strategy was to have the right connections?

Then I got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work for three years on an exchange program with the Dutch Navy. Did I have to be highly qualified to get this job? Certainly - but there were dozens of others who were equally or more qualified. Why did I get it? Because I was due for a job transfer at the exact time that the job came open - it comes open once every three year. So it was pure timing -- blind luck really, beyond the fact that I was qualified.

Ask Mike Myers or Jim Carrey how they became "A" list actors. They seem as flabbergasted as anyone else. Why did they over hundreds of other quality actors get to be so famous? Basically being at the right place at the right time and around the right people.

Franka Potente (Maria in The Bourne Identity) claims "she was discovered as an actress in a public restroom. She was in a bar when she noticed she was constantly stared at by some woman. She decided to leave but went to the restroom before. The woman followed her and again stared at her through the mirror. Suddenly she asked "How would you describe yourself in one sentence?". Turns out she was a casting agent." [source]

So there's the investment strategy to get into -- education -- get smart about something valuable, or gain a skill set that is desired/needed in the world -- working hard and being smart are the foundation -- then figure out how best to be in the right place at the right time around the right people. That's the final puzzle piece to success.

Does any of this make sense that I've written? I'm curious to know...

Capt Steve is spot on and though my smarts, research and intuition have served me well, so has "luck".

One rule that I live by is this:

Do not invest or play with money you can't afford to lose.

Fortunately, I had the solid belief that as long as I was under 30 (why 30 is my magic number, I don't know), even if I lost everything and went completely bankrupt, I am young enough to start over and rebuild. With the added benefit of knowledge and experience. So no matter what, the way I look at it, I win.

So...when I began investing, I had several different types to hedge my bets. Over the years, I watched them and learned which ones worked for me. I kind of put my hand in several different pots and surprise surprise, the property horse gained speed fast. And now has beaten out all others and I have put most of my eggs in one basket. For now. I still watch the market very carefully but at this point, I am safe no matter what.

So luck of the market may be a factor (and a force to be reckoned with, I agree), it is not THE factor. There were several moments I thought to sell and just go travel with the "winnings" but I waited. That is determination and tenacity. Those are also important factors.

I am glad this thread has gotten so much use. I hope that it has been beneficial and someone can gain from the knowledge sharing.

Good luck!

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Fortunately, I had the solid belief that as long as I was under 30 (why 30 is my magic number, I don't know), even if I lost everything and went completely bankrupt, I am young enough to start over and rebuild.

Good point, but you really aren't ever too old to seek opportunity.

Who is this guy?

"He was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1902 and trained to become an ambulance driver during the First World War with Walt Disney, though the war ended before he ever saw any action. He tried his hand at a number of trades including paper cup salesman and piano player, between then and the early 1950s. He eventually became a Multi-mixer milkshake machine salesman traveling across the country peddling his wares. It was this work which led him to the two brothers, Mac (Maurice) and Dick (Richard) MacDonald, at their innovative San Bernardino, California hamburger restaurant. This man and his inventions, as well as his franchise have made fast food history. He died on January 14, 1984."

Yep, Ray Kroc didn't find big success until his mid 50s -- when he saw an opportunity to build what is now McDonalds Restaurants. He never stopped striving, and eventually found himself a winner.

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Originally posted by Capt Steve:

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Fortunately, I had the solid belief that as long as I was under 30 (why 30 is my magic number, I don't know), even if I lost everything and went completely bankrupt, I am young enough to start over and rebuild.

Good point, but you really aren't ever too old to seek opportunity.

You may be correct. I am very conscious that 30 being MY magic number is a limit I have given myself. I think once you begin working outside of your own comfort zone, you are more prone to making bad decisions. I learned my limits and respect them.

ie. like when you be on a stock, you are suppose to have a bottom line when you get out. Kinda. You get the point.

I'm sorry, I must be missing something here -- I get that once you "made it" at 30 -- you stopped taken big risks and you protect what you have -- but what would you have done if you hadn't "made it" by 30? Given up? Taken a "safe" job? Just curious...

What you said above makes sense Steve... of course I wasn't expecting her or anyone else to flat out say "do this and buy this and you'll be well off like me", but some basic info of how she got started would have been good (which she provided). I just read Rich Dad which was very good I thought, but also read Why We Want You to Be Rich by Trump and Kiyosaki, which wasn't good at all I thought.

and basics are about all that are transferable - there are certainly well-known ways to think and act that tend to bring certain results -- the key is to learn these habits, then apply them in your own way.

I cringe at those formulaic "do this and be rich" schemes / scams -- acting without knowing exactly what you are doing is usually a recipe for disaster. (see 'foreclosure boy' link above)

a very wise person once told me the best way to get smart (and thus have the best chance at success) is to "read a lot of books and ask a lot of questions."