When people learn that I bought my first investment property in San Francisco at 23, they are often surprised and curious about how I achieved this goal at such a young age. I never gave it much thought, as I just stuck to my plan. However, I recently took the time to trace its origins. Long story short, it’s been a 5-year journey of making multiple “right” decisions that put me in a fortunate position to buy a house.

The story begins when I was 18 years old, a sophomore in college. I had just completed my first summer internship at Sandia National Labs in Livermore, CA. Because I lived at home and opted to commute the daily 100-mile round trip, I saved up quite a bit of money from that one summer. I quickly realized the advantage of living at home while working and decided that after graduation, I’d find a job in San Francisco and live at home. There was just one little hiccup: my chemical engineering major did not provide many opportunities in the Bay Area. If I wanted the best shot at acquiring a job in SF, I would have to find something in tech.

For the rest of my sophomore year, I debated with myself whether I should switch majors to get these opportunities. Against my advisor’s wishes and my classmates’ pleas, I dropped a few critical ChemE classes, applied to the Information Systems (IS) major, and prayed I would get in. All summer long, I waited and waited for the letter… and finally, I got the great news!

My journey was just beginning. I started my junior year in Information Systems, taking classes with freshmen to catch up. At one point, I was taking a freshman, sophomore, and junior-level class all in the same semester. I still planned to graduate in four years, which meant cramming the entire IS curriculum into my remaining two years. If that were not enough, I also applied for a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) double major, so I had to finish two whole majors in two years. Ultimately, I did it by overloading on courses every semester and graduating with over 500 credits. I secured my job in the fall of my senior year and coasted the rest of the way to graduation.

All this time, my plan was to live in San Francisco to save money for a house. It wasn’t initially a short-term goal, and the idea of real estate investing didn’t cross my mind until after I started working. By then, I was 22 and deep into personal finance. I followed Mr. Money Mustache and eventually discovered the BiggerPockets community. Once I started listening to BP podcasts, I cemented my passion for real estate as a path towards financial independence. I was hooked on the idea of FIRE, passive income, and retiring early.

Quickly, I realized how critical my position was – living at home and earning a high income in tech. To further advance my progress, I cut expenses, saved money, and absorbed everything I could on real estate investing. I developed criteria for my investment property, learned to analyze deals, ran comps every season for over a year, and developed a strong understanding of the real estate market. By the time I turned 23, I was ready to pull the trigger. I found a cash-flowing property, put in my offer, and closed in January 2020.

Looking back, I can easily connect the dots to see how it all came together. However, throughout the process, my peers thought I was crazy to dream of buying a house so soon. Their doubt made me question myself too, but my plan was there, the steps were laid, and I just had to follow the numbers. My vision remained my north star and continued to guide me when I was hesitant.

My advice to you: plan, follow through, and push forward. No matter how ambitious your goals may seem, with a clear plan and determination, you can achieve them!