In my 20's, I had a plan to own rental properties and make that my primary source of income by renting them out. I figured it would be easy, look for some run-down properties for sale, buy homes at auction, and just rent them out.
I bought the Carlton Sheets DVDs and did some other research. I was ready to start investing in real estate and enjoying my passive income.
Life Gets In The Way
Well, life gets in the way a lot.
I got married at the early age of 23, had my daughter at 25 and ended up racking up lots of debt. The debt wasn't part of my original plan and put a severe damper on my dream of owning rental property.
Years later, medical bills hit and just made things worse. We ended up declaring bankruptcy and then finally divorcing. I was down and depressed, I'm also a natural negative thinker, and thoughts just where horrible.
About six months afterward, I decided to make a change and better my life. I researched and went to counseling and learned how to stop my negative thoughts. As I learned, I also had this feeling of wanting to help others.
After doing research, about seven months later, I decided to create a mental health blog. I enjoy helping people who are struggling with depression and anxiety, and love learning about them and seeing them grow mentally.
Passive Income
Well, three years later now, and I'm still helping others. I've also got my finances in check and put money aside for my dream of owning rental property.
My site has grown with a lot of work, it's not passive income but has helped me achieve my goal of owning property and becoming a landlord.
Dreams are now a reality!
I bought my first rental property, and I'm so excited for this next chapter in my life.
The property is a small one-bedroom home to start with. The property didn't cost too much, and I thought what better way to start than with something little that I could afford and learn more about.
The home needed some work, luckily I'm pretty handy and did the renovations myself. I updated the bathroom by replacing the toilet, vanity, and mirror. The tub was in good condition and just needed some good old fashioned elbow grease to clean it up.
The kitchen has white painted cabinets, which I liked, so I just touched them up with some paint. Installed a new sink and bought a small refrigerator.
The rest of the home was in excellent condition on the inside, nothing a good coat of paint couldn't fix.
Outside the home, I bought a few small shrubs and created a small bed with mulch, giving the place some curb appeal.
I plan to own ten properties to rent out in the next 15 years.
It'll take some time to purchase more rental properties, rent them out, and eventually turn them into passive income, but it'll be so worth the time, effort, and investment.
The Renter
How exciting! My first rental property now has my first renter! A single guy, my friend, actually who needed a place to rent. I agreed with him, if he cut the grass and took care of the landscaping, I would hold off on raising the rent each year.
It's been about a month since my renter has lived there, and things are going smoothly. I've already started thinking about my next investment and will look into possibly hiring a property manager for future purchases.
I'll give an update soon about the property and look forward to buying another.
Best of luck to you.