Welcome to Physicians and Properties
Hi Physicians and Properties family. In this blog post, I wanted to share with you why I, a family medicine physician, decided to be a real estate investor. I was born in Manassas, Virginia after my wombmate (identical twin brother) and I were evicted. I guess you could say this was my first foray into real estate…. We spent our formative years growing up in Fauquier County which was a fantastic place to live. We spent our time outdoors, hanging out with friends, and playing baseball.
Unfortunately, my mother got quite sick when we were growing up and this further drove my motivation to become a physician. However, this allowed me to really notice the importance of hard work as my father left the house every day at 0400 and drove over an hour to work. After working all day, he drove back to spend time with us and never missed a baseball game. We were not extremely poor. But, my parents definitely stressed about money and we struggled to make ends meet. This is why I invest in real estate.
Medical School
Fast forward many years, I went to college at Christopher Newport University (go Captains) and got into my dream medical school at VCU School of Medicine on an Air Force HPSP Scholarship. At the time, my father recommended I take my signing bonus and invest it into a rental property to fix up during medical school. But, sadly I did not listen as I was overwhelmed by the busy endeavor of medical school that stood before me. This was one of the greatest regrets I have. I wish I started investing in real estate sooner. That rental property would have been a game changer, a catalyst propelling me further toward financial success. So, if you have read this far and are thinking of investing in real estate, just do it.
During medical school, I met the love of my life, and a few years later my wife Stephanie! She is truly the best person I know; and is an incredible mom, entrepreneur (owns a photography company), and most importantly the best wife. I could talk about her forever. But, back to real estate. After not listening to my dad, I was convinced I would start my real estate investing journey with an adjoining move for residency at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. I mean, who wouldn’t want to have a house in Florida?
How I Bought a Rental Property for $58
I bought my first home in Florida for $58 dollars I believe. You read that right, $58 dollars. How? I used a physician’s mortgage loan. This is arguably the best real estate loan product out there. Amazingly, it is a 0% down mortgage product at a competitive interest rate. Stephanie and I got married and luckily through her amazing design and creative skills, we set out to improve our home by adding value to our home through numerous upgrades. After completing residency this home was rented out to a great tenant and we have gained an enormous amount of equity and appreciation. And, the real estate race was on. Trust me, once that first rental check gets deposited into your account the real estate hook is on.
Luckily, early on (although not early enough) I learned the importance of networking and met some amazing partners that helped to grow our real estate portfolio as well as our knowledge in real estate. We offered on multiple beach properties and got under contract on a few but were unable to close. Ask me about the Panama City Beach Triplex that continues to haunt my dreams to this day.
Short Term Rentals
Fortunately, we were able to purchase a few short-term rentals. One, in Ellijay Georgia, that we recently sold. Another, in Black Hawk, Colorado that is an amazing geodesic dome designed by my wife Stephanie that crushes it on Airbnb and VRBO. We also moved to Colorado Springs in July of 2021 and have since dug out our basement to add a separate entrance allowing us to rent our basement out and live mortgage-free (most months) in Colorado Springs by house-hacking. We now invest mostly in residential assisted living homes and this is our major focus at this time.
Assisted Living
Recently, we pivoted to investing in Assisted Living homes! Did you know that there is already a shortage of 1 million assisted living beds in America? Interestingly, the demand is only going to continue to increase as the baby boomers continue to age! As of right now, we have closed on 2 assisted living homes in Arizona and are under contract on another. This is going to be my primary focus to achieve my real estate/cashflow goals and if you want to learn more about residential assisted living home investing let me know and follow along! I look forward to sharing my journey with you.
Real Estate Goals
My goal is to generate $10,000 dollars a month in semi-passive real estate cash flow by 2025 when I have to decide whether to leave the Air Force. I am a little more than halfway there. Investing in real estate will allow me to have the freedom in the future to practice medicine and live life how I want. I want to help you do the same. Please, if you have any questions at all do not hesitate to contact me!
Also, if you want to join a community of like-minded physician real-estate investors then join the Physicians and Properties Facebook Group Here! Or feel free to reach out to me HERE!