Three properties.
One real education.

My interest in real estate began in 2019. It took two years of YouTube videos, Google searches, and blogs before I finally jumped off the sidelines into the game.

Before becoming an agent, I wanted to be an investor. I loved the idea of gaining financial freedom through real estate — it's how most wealthy people build their wealth. "It's simple, not easy."

Property One — jumping in during Covid

It was Covid. Admittedly a very strange time — looking back, it still feels like a fever dream. Interest rates were so low it seemed like everyone was buying a house. I was constantly getting outbid by higher offers or all-cash buyers. We had seen 15–20 properties, put in 5 separate offers, and just as I was about to throw in the towel, I found it: a recently renovated multifamily property with a finished basement and attic.

The joy and sense of accomplishment couldn't be explained. The years of studying and sleepless nights spent analyzing deals to make sure they'd cash flow had finally paid off. Little did I know, the journey had just begun.

I used an FHA loan — a government-backed loan that requires as little as 3.5% down. The downside is the mortgage insurance premium and the additional monthly payment. I looked at it as the cost to play the game, because there was no other way I was getting in.

After closing, I handled every aspect of managing the property myself — marketing the units, showing them to tenants, screening applicants, handling requests, complaints, and repairs. All of it. Being an owner and property manager at the same time taught me a lot, not just about real estate but about myself. Patience, negotiating, and knowing when to detach became second nature. All of that on top of a more-than-full-time job.

The lessons that came with it

Tax reassessment. I purchased from a flipper — someone who bought the property in a distressed state, renovated it heavily, and sold it to a retail buyer like me. At purchase, taxes were assessed at the pre-renovation value. A few months in, they were reassessed at the renovated value and my mortgage jumped almost $500 a month. I had just signed yearly leases, so the rent was locked in. It still covered the mortgage, but barely — once utilities were factored in, I was in the red every month. Lesson learned the hard way.

Budget for repairs. Even with an inspection, things will break. It's not a matter of if, it's when. The worst of it came in February. Both units had turned over and new tenants were moving in within a week. I stopped by to check on the property and the water heater was off. I ran to Home Depot for tools, came back, and water was pouring out of the house. A pipe had frozen and burst on the second floor, sending water rushing down through every floor and out the side of the building.

Thank God my girlfriend (now my wife) was there with me, because I was about ready to quit. I felt completely defeated, standing in a frozen lake of water spread across three floors. No amount of research prepares you for that moment. We spent four straight days, 12–14 hours each, tearing down drywall, removing four layers of ceiling left by previous owners, replacing insulation and sheetrock, painting, and cleaning. We finished one day before the new tenants moved in.

Selling Property One — a whole other story

When my wife and I decided North Carolina was going to be our home, I chose to sell. I could've kept it and hired a property manager, but it had run its course. Time for a new beginning.

We held an open house and received an offer at asking. I was ecstatic — the game plan had worked. Then it took four months to close. The buyers did not have their finances in order the way they made it seem, and I was ready to back out multiple times. I was losing money every month that house sat with a vacant unit. Thankfully I had a good agent who kept an open line of communication and got us to the closing table — not before I made concessions, but we got there. Either way, I made out on the property and gained experience no amount of studying ever could have given me.

Property Two — buying NC from out of state

It took one visit to North Carolina to know this was where we wanted to be. We fell in love immediately and there's been no looking back since.

After my first buying experience, I knew what to expect — and the process here in NC wasn't so different from New Jersey that it was intimidating. Being out-of-state buyers was still the scariest part. We were purchasing a home in a city we had visited exactly once.

We viewed about ten properties in person. Either we were too late to put in an offer or found an issue — and we had to run rental comps on everything to make sure the property would cover the mortgage while my wife finished school in New York. Thankfully we had a great agent who did FaceTime tours with us, and after about three of those we found the one. We ran the rental numbers, everything checked out, and we closed in about a month.

The one curveball: our HVAC unit was stolen while we were searching for a tenant. Three thousand dollars, just like that.

Property Three — home

My wife finished school. I negotiated a remote position with my employer of nine years. We were ready to make the move for good.

The original plan was to move into the property we had been renting out, but our tenants loved it and we had the opportunity — so we bought again. This time we were specific: close to downtown but not too close, some land, a fenced backyard, and a garage for a home gym.

We did two FaceTime walkthroughs before finding it. It checked every box. We drove down for the inspection and the only real issue was the back deck — so deteriorated the inspector warned us not to stand on it. He recommended we get a specialist out for a quote. When it came back, our hearts sank. Fifteen thousand dollars. For a deck.

We were ready to walk away. But when we did the math, it still made sense — everything else we had looked at that checked the same boxes was $20,000–$25,000 more than what we were buying for. Either way we were paying that difference. Having an agent in our corner to walk us through our options, keep us rational, and negotiate aggressively is what got us our dream home.

I show my personal portfolio not to flaunt anything but to give you context on who you're working with. Owning real estate is not easy, and it is not for everyone. You will get frequent headaches when something breaks and you're deciding whether to fix it yourself or pay someone. But it is also one of the most rewarding things you can do — having something to call your own, building equity, and creating options for your future.