When people find out that I bought my first investment property in SF at age 23, they are usually surprised and curious how I achieved such a goal at a relatively young age. I haven’t ever given it much thought as I’ve always just followed my plan, but I sat down recently to trace its origins. Long story short, it’s been a 5-year journey in which I made multiple “right” decisions to 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 journey, 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 SF and live at home. There was just one little hiccup. My major in chemical engineering did not provide for many opportunities in the Bay Area. If I wanted the best shot of acquiring a job in SF, I would have to find something in tech. The rest of my sophomore year, I questioned and 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 Information Systems (IS), 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 IS, taking classes with freshmen and trying 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 I had to cram the entire IS curriculum in my remaining two years. Oh, and in the meantime, I applied for a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) double major, so I had to finish two whole majors in two years. Ultimately I did it, overloading on courses every semester and graduating with 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 SF to save money for a house. By no means was it 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 in a personal finance binge. I followed MMM and eventually came across 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, prioritized the factors that mattered to me (cash-flow vs. appreciation), and sharpened my deal analysis skills. 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 Jan 2020.
Looking back, I can easily connect the dots to see how it all came together. However, throughout the process, my peers all 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 the north star and continued to guide me when I was hesitant. My advice to you: plan, follow through, and push forward.
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