Before we get into today’s issue…

I want to let you know I’ll be speaking at the first-ever ResiDay, hosted by Lance Lambert’s ResiClub, in New York City on Friday, November 8th.

There will be hundreds of influential housing single-family landlords, developers, lenders, and brokers who are shaping the future of residential real estate, homebuilding, mortgage lending, and build-to-rent. Several prominent real estate journalists will also be there.

The ResiDay discussion will center around where the U.S. housing market will head from here?

Expect great conversation, networking opportunities, and just plain fun—I hope to see you there.

Now let’s get into this week’s edition.

Here are 3 mistakes to avoid on your financial freedom journey 

Last week, Anna “REI Mom” Kelley and I returned from our respective trips to the Mediterranean and Iceland. We are both fortunate to have the freedom to take trips like these—and we all can admit it’s pretty fun to live vicariously through millionaires when you see them travel to cool places. 

But what’s even more interesting is when millionaires can step back and admit what they got wrong before they reached financial success.

Anna and I outlined three key lessons we wished we would have known at the beginning of our investing journeys.

1. Don’t miss the joys of everyday life

Intense focus is a superpower, but it can also be your kryptonite. I started my financial freedom journey when my daughter was eight years old, and I didn’t reap the benefits until she was in college. 

As a parent, you have to realize what this means. My ability to do a single task repeatedly and consistently for years was integral to my success. However, working 50 to 60 hours a week at my job, traveling around the country, and dedicating time to real estate investing all took away time with my daughter. 

If I were to do it again, I think I would have prioritized taking more family vacations. I would have slowed down a little bit, even if it meant reaching my goal a year or two later than I did. 

2. Don’t replace quality time with quantity of time

Anna says that while she and her husband were building out their real estate investing business, her kids were along for the ride. They sat on the floor of the apartments while they painted the walls, learning the value of hard work and determination. 

But Anna says she also thinks they missed out on fun free time with her family because they were working so much, even if the kids were alongside them. 

She says it’s important to realize that there are ways to make those important memories with your family before reaching your ultimate goal.

In other words, you may be so focused on getting to a place where you can buy a beach house, you may go years without going to the beach with your family. All the while, you could have spent some money to rent a beach house for a long weekend, and still make that memory.

It is important to consider what you want your day-to-day to look like with your family, not just what you hope things will look like after you achieve success. Think about the memories you want to make in the next several years and figure out how to rent those experiences as you work towards your long-term financial goals.

3. Live well below your means while you expand your means

This is something Anna and I did right, but we see a lot of folks get wrong. If you are upgrading your day-to-day lifestyle every time you see an uptick in your cash flow, then you are prolonging your financial freedom journey. This creates more pressure to focus on the work and makes it harder to pause and take the time for trips or quality time with your family. 

ResiClub chart of the week:

Last month, ResiClub’s Lance Lambert outlined findings from a recent survey of resale real estate agents conducted by John Burns Research and Consulting (JBREC).

The survey found that Northeast, Midwest, and Southern California-based home sellers have the most power. 

This isn’t that much of a surprise given that active inventory for sale across much of the Northeast, Midwest, and Southern California remains well below pre-pandemic levels, Lance explains..

Meanwhile, active inventory in Texas, Florida, and the Mountain West has jumped above pre-pandemic levels, giving buyers the upper hand in those markets. 

Number of the week: 2 units

If you know anything about One Rental at a Time, my—admittedly ambitious—goal is to help grow the middle class. I believe the key to growing the middle class comes down to owning assets and embracing inflation as a feature, not a bug. 

Real estate investor and advisor Brandon Turner recently talked about how just owning a couple of rental properties can change your life. 

Even if I haven’t liked things Brandon has said and done in the past, I think he has a special place in the real estate investing space. He has a huge voice and if he is helping people realize the impact of owning even just two rental properties, I’m all for that. 

I’ve recently noticed a shift: Quite a few big names, including Brandon, have gone from advising viewers to buy up trailer parks and apartment complexes (hundreds of units) to purchasing a handful of rental properties. 

The latter is the strategy One Rental at a Time has stuck to for years.

Is this shift a sign that it’s hard to raise money for bigger deals right now? Probably.

Is it a sign that assets aren’t retrading? Probably.

Is it a sign that these big names have decided they need to reposition to be relevant? Maybe. 

Regardless of the reason, I welcome the shift. 

Join the One Rental at a Time Skool Community

The One Rental at a Time community on Skool is more than 250 members strong.

We’re creating more opportunities for you to interact with those who have achieved financial freedom through real estate investing. 

Being surrounded by people at all stages of their real estate investing journey is crucial to your success, and joining us on Skool is an easy way to do just that.

It is only $20 to gain access to my monthly (or more) live streams as well as various millionaires answering your questions in real-time and connecting with people who can help you. 

Learn more about how I am organizing the ORAAT Skool community content and calendar.

Follow me on X: @1RentalataTime

Subscribe to One Rental at a Time on Youtube