How We Left Our W2s in 4 Years with Real Estate Investing
By Thirdstone Properties LLC - Monday, March 21, 2022
My husband and I were always the entrepreneurial type. We started dating in 2006 when I was 18 years old. Almost our entire relationship we had some sort of side gig going. Real estate investing was the passion that finally stuck. At the time of writing this, we own nine properties, are under contract for our tenth, and own a full-service brokerage managing about 200 doors in Jacksonville.
Our Backgrounds:
I earned my Bachelor's in Marketing in 2012 and my Master's in Entrepreneurship in 2015, climbing from a Sony Music Latin intern to Director of the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the U.S. Isaac earned his Bachelor's in Mathematics in 2016 after building Pitbull's website and later working in asset management at PIMCO and Morgan Stanley in New York City. Neither of us had any real estate experience until 2017.
Living in NYC:
After moving to New York in 2016, we realized buying an apartment in Manhattan was cost-prohibitive. On a walk with our beagle one day, we both arrived at the same idea: invest our savings in out-of-state rental properties. We poured hundreds of hours into learning, saved heavily for a year, and bought our first single-family home in Jacksonville for $90,500. In our first year we purchased three properties sight unseen, used a HELOC on the first property for the third property's down payment, and managed three inherited tenants from over 1,000 miles away.
Pursuing Our Passion:
We knew we wanted to do real estate full-time. I earned my Florida Sales Associate license while working full time and seven months pregnant, taking advantage of Florida's remote licensing. We began referring investors to our agent Michael Braddock and earning referral commissions on each sale.
The Big Move:
We planned to move to Jacksonville in May 2020, right into the COVID shutdown. We bought our primary home sight unseen in January 2020 and drove down that summer with our suitcases. I found a remote marketing job while Isaac focused on investments and rehabs full-time.
Starting and Growing the Brokerage:
When clients started asking us to manage their properties, we launched Thirdstone Properties. Isaac handled rehabs and property readiness while I managed screenings, owner statements, and rent collection remotely. Our goal was to reach 200 doors under management and I would leave my W2.
Partnering and Leaving My W2:
We partnered with Michael Braddock, who left his salaried job to join our startup. Together we completed $8.2 million in deals in our first four years. By end of 2021 we had 170 doors under management. I passed the Florida broker's exam in December 2021 and officially left my W2 in February 2022 at 180 doors.
Recap:
There are many paths to making real estate your full-time business. We found our own, set goals, and worked tirelessly to reach them. Our three core goals: help clients achieve their investment dreams, protect their assets, and provide tenants with a great home to live in.
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