Welcome to episode two. In this episode, I will talk about the beginning of my real estate journey which began over 30 years ago. I will touch on:
- What caused my curiosity in real estate
- What I did initially to learn about real estate
- A little about my first couple of deals
- And transitioning to where I am today - continuing to buy but also working with agents and other investors
Where It All Began…
I first became interested in real estate as a teenager. Even in high school, I knew I wanted to generate income, but back then I didn’t realize it was in a passive manner. Doing my research led me to real estate. I can recall reading books on the subject by both investors and developers. I had always thought money was generated in exchange for time. But I wanted to learn how to make money without spending all of those hours. With real estate, I learned that I would be able to achieve the profits I was after without the time commitment.
I discovered I could buy one house, rent it out, and have the tenants pay it off for me. Once the house was paid off, it would be instant income. I would be creating assets for myself that others paid off. I learned how to leverage assets, always making sure the income was much greater than the expenses.
How I Started…
After high school, I joined the military. Investing in real estate wasn’t really an option for me as I was deployed, off somewhere on a ship, not able to close the deals I wanted to. I didn’t have the time to complete the tasks that would be required to close deals. During this time, I continued to read. I went to seminars, and I learned all I could. I learned enough to be dangerous.
My first property purchase happened in the late ’80s during the S&L Crisis. It was a condominium in Pensacola. I was familiar with the area, having lived and trained there while in the military. I enjoyed going there so the purchase seemed like a no-brainer. I had good credit and was able to take over the loan, with little money down. I was able to quickly find a renter, and from there things were easy. It was a great property, in fact, I wish I still had it!
My second property was a different story. I was also stationed in San Diego during my time in the military. I thought maybe I should reach out to the “We Buy Houses” guys, hoping to work with them on a deal. I had some money saved up and eventually made a deal with a wholesaler. His team fixed up the property, but meanwhile, the market was shifting. I was in over my head, with a property I never should have become involved with. My lack of experience and success of my first deal led me to believe the second deal would go the same way. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. I lost about 9k on that deal, which was a big chunk of money at the time. It’s still a big chunk of money today!
The lesson here was that if you don’t have money or if you don’t have the education behind you, don’t get ahead of yourself with a property you aren’t ready for. It was a difficult lesson learned, all a part of what has got me to where I am today.
These days, I am still buying, but I also focus on working with other investors and real estate agents. I believe there are a lot of positives to these relationships and opportunities for all parties to be successful.
If you are interested in working with me or would like to learn more about creating a lifestyle that doesn’t require your presence, go to my website at:
bensouchek.com