Flipping houses might be the key to a work-free life at a younger age than you’d expect.
Would you retire early, if you could? Of course you would! But what would it take to get to that point if you’re not, say, inheriting loads of money from relatives? Take a closer look at investing in real estate and you could become that successful entrepreneur with the ability to retire at a young age.
In the article below, real estate investor Chad Carson shares his strategies.
By John Schneider and David Auten
Know Your Why
The saying goes, “If you’re not building your own dreams, then you’re working to help someone else build theirs.” This is the primary reason Chad Carson of CoachCarson.com became an entrepreneur.
Although it may sound cliché, Carson encourages anyone who desires to retire early with real estate investing to take a good look inside. First, understand why you’re doing this. Without proper motivation, attempting anything can be futile at best and a complete failure for you and your family at worst. Carson says, “You’ve got to build your finances and your business around that personal goal.”
Identify Your Financial Independence Number
For many, especially in the F.I.R.E (financial independence, retire early) community, retirement is based on knowing exactly what you want from retirement and knowing exactly what it will cost. If retirement is jetting to the islands every month, driving the hottest car and living the choicest neighborhoods, the amount of money you’ll need will be different than Carson’s.
Carson wanted his real estate income to cover his family’s minimal expenses so he had the freedom to spend time with them, travel and grow his online and real estate businesses. He calculated how much money he and his family would need and then built a real estate business to those expenses.
For example, Carson shares the advice about creating true wealth he received from a college professor and mentor, “First, learn how to make and live off $30,000. Then, learn how to make $60,000 and live off $30,000. Finally, learn how to make $120,000 and live off $30,000.” Carson took this to heart and started funneling extra money back into his real estate purchases.
Progress on Wealth Building Journey
Carson suggests that everyone assess where they are on their wealth building journey. Some may be beginners, others much further along with hundreds of thousands of dollars saved. Knowing where you are already is key to determining how much further you need to go and how much risk to take.
The larger your existing nest egg, the bigger your opportunities for investing in real estate. That doesn’t mean you must be rich to get started. Although Carson warns, “If you’re going to get into real estate, you can’t get in there and buy rental properties, for example, if you have a really small margin. It’s okay to wait and save some money.”
Pick an Appropriate Plan for You
Next Carson suggests right-sizing your plan and going with what works for you. Are you a landlord want to be? Do you want to fix and flip? Can you be an Air B&B master? Do you just want to house hack?
This is the reason Carson includes the stories of 25 different real estate investors. In Carson’s book, you’ll read stories of people like Paula Pant of the Afford Anything podcast and Carl and Mindy Jensen of 1500days.com. Each story tells how different real estate investors individually created real estate investing plans that fit who they are as investors and what they want out of life.
Get Started
Carson concludes by simply saying, “Get started!”
Just like Nike’s Just Do It campaign, Carson encourages everyone to create a plan and then work the plan. No plan works unless you work.
For many, real estate is often our largest asset and the biggest draw on our income. Turning a portion of that draw into an investment that can return more than what’s invested can be the beginning of early retirement. Are you ready to retire early with real estate investing?
