INVEST
INVESTING 101
Explore Tips on How to begin investing to generate additional streams of income, and prepare for you future.
My Investing Story
I started investing in Real Estate in 2015 when I began to see how Washington, DC was changing so rapidly. Areas that used to be "bad neighborhoods" now had homes worth half a million dollars. Today those homes are worth $900k+. I was sad to see the city change, but also excited to learn what might become. My main goal when I started was to get a property in Washington, DC. The neighborhoods were changing so fast, that I almost felt like I was too late. Nonetheless, I started my journey in searching for a home. I know I wanted the following things in my home search:
Affordable mortgage
At least 3 bedrooms
A basement because I was obsessed with the idea of having a basement rental. There was a show on HGTV called "Income Property" that I was obsessed with. I just loved the idea that someone could help you pay your mortgage.
Something that needed a little bit of work so that I could lock in a lower price and fix it up over time.
Walking-Distance to the Metro
In DC proper, although I was open to the idea of moving to the suburbs around it.
I was able to secure my first property for $165,000. A year later that property was worth $265,000 and I thought to myself, is it that easy to make $100,000. Then another year later, it was worth $365,000 and today that same property is worth around $465,000+. When I first bought my first home, I wanted to do the strategy below:
Buy a Home for $200,000
When that home appreciates to $400,000, then use that extra $200,000 of equity to buy a home worth $400,000 but because I would be using the full equity, then I would essentially be paying the same $200,000 mortgage for a $400,000 home. I thought I was a genius. I thought, in the future, I would be paying half as much as my neighbors, all because I decided to purchase a home now. To me that was goals.
Luckily, as I began learning more about real estate investing, I began to understand that investing based on appreciation is speculative at best, and that in order to invest smartly, I would need to come up with a different strategy.
This site outlines my journey in learning more about real estate investing and really focusing in on learning more about different real estate investing strategies.
