Imagine setting out to buy your first rental real estate unit … and having the opportunity to buy thirteen.
What would you do? Would you freeze like a deer in headlights? Run in the opposite direction? Or lean in and find a way to make it work?
Luke Andrews, author of Amazon bestseller 10 Mistakes Everyone Makes Buying Their 1st Rental Property (now available for free download at 10investormistakes.com) chose the latter.
The opportunity came when sitting down for dinner with his co-worker and future investing partner, the co-worker’s girlfriend, and the girlfriend’s parents.
“We’re passionate about real estate investing,” Andrews told Ricci Truong of the Camaplan Podcast. “We’re looking for some properties. And they said, ‘Well, interestingly enough, we own a lot of properties and we’re looking to retire and sell our portfolio.’”
Despite having only pulled together $20,000, barely enough for a down payment on one unit, Andrews and his partner jumped at the chance to jumpstart a significant portfolio. They ended up bringing on an experienced “money partner” and splitting the deal 50/50 in exchange for them doing all the management.
The hits kept coming — Andrews’ next opportunity after the first thirteen units was an opportunity to purchase a portfolio of fifteen single-family homes. This fast start gave birth to a private ambition — to acquire forty rental units before his fortieth birthday. He achieved that ambition with months to spare.
Today, Andrews outsources most of the work on his portfolio to property managers, contractors, and other vendors, leaving him with more time to coach his sons’ sports teams.
“There’s not quite as much and it’s not as hands-on, but you still have to make a lot of decisions,” Andrews said. “The nice part is that you can make those decisions from just about anywhere. So decisions I found are a lot easier. make when you’re having a cocktail on the beach, right? … When you’re sitting out by the pool, decisions don’t seem as stressful, you know?”
