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Find Your Life Line – Real Estate

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When I asked how I find the time/energy to juggle my varied obligations or when I bother to sleep, I simply explain that when you have something you LOVE in your life the inevitable hard days are worth it. I found my life line at the barn and in the saddle. Although the time I spend riding has waxed and waned over the years, I always return to this one thing that nourishes the best parts of me. So, I decided to ask my friends where they found their life line and how they kept going.

Find Your Life Line with ifthesaddlefits.com

Meet Elizabeth:

I am a proud military wife, kitty mom, and a lover of business and finance.

What are you passionate about?

My passion is to buy houses. We buy both houses that we live in and later turn into rentals and houses that are immediate rentals. I love the fact that it is a portable career and something that I can manage anywhere we go. It is also something I can do on my own schedule and while thing always happen at the worst moments; it is flexible.

How did you get started with it?

My mom owned a home before she and my dad got married. They have kept it as a rental ever since. They were very “hands on” so my brother and I were always around it and helped when we got older. My husband and I got married young and early on in his career. I quickly realized that I wanted something that was “portable” that I could do. I have always loved real estate. We got started by buying a family home (with the mindset we would rent it when we were transferred). Even though based on my experience now, we did everything wrong, it still worked out great! From there we have baby stepped our way to building an empire.

What are the challenges to pursuing your passion?

My hobby is not cheap. While personal properties are only 0% down (VA loan) to 5% conventional, to fulfill my dream we are building quicker than we can buy personal properties . Therefore we are buying investments with 20-25% down. While it does create a passive income that is building over time as we increase our house number and interest rates increase, it still has significant start up costs.

How does it benefit you and your family?

The cash flow after expenses is amazing plus the fact that someone else is paying down our mortgage while giving us “place holders” in the market should we ever need to move back to the area. Therefore we are able to take advantage of any appreciation. I also love being able to work in a field I love while being able to work around my family’s schedule. This is my “sweat” equity I can contribute toward my family while still doing all my other obligations.

How has “adult life” and your other obligations affected how you pursue your interest?

Since my hobby is so expensive I work full time in my career to fund my “love”. My full time job is demanding and a lot of work. It doesn’t help that I am not a morning person and half of my rentals are on the east coast so there is a 3 hour time difference. Balancing a full time career job, soon to be 7 rentals, and my blog, has had its moments

What keeps you going when it feels like you have too much on your plate?

3 things keep me going: my friends/family, the end result, and honestly the work itself is a stress reliever. My friends and family help by being for there listing, critiquing and mostly just being there. The thing is I love my hobby because it is a destresser! While it can feel overwhelming because of everything else, the actually “buying” and dealing with rentals is my happy “area”. It also doesn’t hurt when I look at our  end result I see how I am helping my family reach our “goals”.

What are your tips for someone with the same interests who isn’t sure if they can balance their obligations with pursuing their passion?

My passion was designed around building something that would fit my long term obligations (kids, supporting my husband) all while pursuing my passion. That being said, it has certainly has been overwhelming having a full time job to pay for my passion while building everything. For me I have been able to overcome thing by figuring out my end goals. Whether this is just one stop, or a long process  I figured out that a lot of the “big” stressors were just “blocks” to my larger dreams. While one can not operate at 150% forever there have been periods when we have buckled down to achieve something specific, i.e. flowing through those road blocks: Masters degree, gut our first home, couch surf while our 4th house short sale was closing etc. The key for us was for us to remind ourselves that this was just temporary and enjoy ourselves when we can.

Tell me about your favorite life hack/organization tip/secret for success?

My key has been being a planner while being flexible. Since we have such short periods I have had plans for as many contingencies as possible. This allows me to be able to hit the grond running in such a short period of time.  I have also learned to be very flexible and think outside of the box. As much as I hate the saying ” you’ll figure it out” it is very true. I am a huge believer if there is a will there is a way.

What are your goals for your hobby/business?

My dream is that our houses and my husband’s military retirement (god/navy willing) will provide the cash flow for us to be financially secure when my husband retires from the Navy. Our dream is to sail around the world with our kids or after they go to college depending on timing. These are our baskets that we can get started with now and than I can manage as our financial situation gets “tighter” but my time is more flexible.
Thank you Elizabeth.
Take a moment to visit Elizabeth at reluctantlandlord.net where she teaches readers how to successful manage their homes and tenants the tricks of the trade too!

The post Find Your Life Line – Real Estate appeared first on If the Saddle Fits.


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