We just hit a HUGE milestone in our real estate career... (By "we" I mean my wife, Lara, and I) This past Friday, we closed on 2 small apartment buildings in Edmonton (purchased close to the new Rogers Place & ICE District), a total of 16 units that we purchased for $88,000/door! This acquisition increased our holdings to just over 100 rental units.
It's been one hell of a roller coaster ride so far, and one thing is for sure, the concepts for success in real estate are VERY simple and yet no where near easy.
I wrote down a goal about 5 years ago (I don't know how and I don't know why... but writing down goals WORKS! So I do it every year) that at 35, I would be in a position to quit my job and do real estate full time. Though this goal was long forgotten, I was able to quit my job last year... I was 34 years old... and now, I do real estate full time... So much more fun!
In 2 days (September 12, 2017), I will celebrate my first arrival into Canada. It's been 17 years and yet it still feels like yesterday. I landed in Ottawa, ON and got off the plane with one HUMONGOUS suitcase, a few bucks from my parents (in a wallet that my Mom gave me and I still use to this day) and a promise to not waste the opportunity that had been given to me... I knew there were several Ugandan kids (and adults) that would have done ANYTHING to be in my shoes on that pivotal day!
After I graduated from Carleton University, I moved to Northern Alberta (like... WAAY up north)... there weren't many Engineering students that were willing to make a move like that to a remote town in the middle of northern... anywhere! But my wife and I knew that there would be less competition for work up north and we would use it as a stepping stone to further our financial future.
We used my salary raises to qualify for more real estate properties and slowly built up our portfolio starting in November 24, 2006 when we bought our first 800 sqft house... and the rest, as they say is history.
I read a quote in the memoir written by Nike's founder, Phil Knight, titled "Shoe Dog". The quote pretty much summed up how we got to 100 units... and trust me... it wasn't and still isn't easy.
“So that morning in 1962 I told myself: Let everyone else call your idea crazy . . . just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and don’t give much thought to where “there” is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop.”
― Phil Knight, Shoe Dog
The path we choose as investors and entrepreneurs isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Our moods can go from euphoria and ultimate bliss to downright depressed in a blink of an eye. Many think we are crazy and they might be right... but I wouldn't have it any other way!
So whatever comes, just... don't... stop...
It's been one hell of a roller coaster ride so far, and one thing is for sure, the concepts for success in real estate are VERY simple and yet no where near easy.
I wrote down a goal about 5 years ago (I don't know how and I don't know why... but writing down goals WORKS! So I do it every year) that at 35, I would be in a position to quit my job and do real estate full time. Though this goal was long forgotten, I was able to quit my job last year... I was 34 years old... and now, I do real estate full time... So much more fun!
In 2 days (September 12, 2017), I will celebrate my first arrival into Canada. It's been 17 years and yet it still feels like yesterday. I landed in Ottawa, ON and got off the plane with one HUMONGOUS suitcase, a few bucks from my parents (in a wallet that my Mom gave me and I still use to this day) and a promise to not waste the opportunity that had been given to me... I knew there were several Ugandan kids (and adults) that would have done ANYTHING to be in my shoes on that pivotal day!
After I graduated from Carleton University, I moved to Northern Alberta (like... WAAY up north)... there weren't many Engineering students that were willing to make a move like that to a remote town in the middle of northern... anywhere! But my wife and I knew that there would be less competition for work up north and we would use it as a stepping stone to further our financial future.
We used my salary raises to qualify for more real estate properties and slowly built up our portfolio starting in November 24, 2006 when we bought our first 800 sqft house... and the rest, as they say is history.
I read a quote in the memoir written by Nike's founder, Phil Knight, titled "Shoe Dog". The quote pretty much summed up how we got to 100 units... and trust me... it wasn't and still isn't easy.
“So that morning in 1962 I told myself: Let everyone else call your idea crazy . . . just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and don’t give much thought to where “there” is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop.”
― Phil Knight, Shoe Dog
The path we choose as investors and entrepreneurs isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Our moods can go from euphoria and ultimate bliss to downright depressed in a blink of an eye. Many think we are crazy and they might be right... but I wouldn't have it any other way!
So whatever comes, just... don't... stop...
