Rich Carey, an officer in the U.S. Air Force, talks about learning to live frugally, buying his first townhouse, and building his real estate empire from one to 20 houses in Montgomery, AL.
- How did Rich get interested in financial independence?
- What did Rich’s frugal life look like before he found financial independence?
- How did Rich’s wife inspire their frugal living?
- Rich and his wife paid off their mortgage in seven years.
- Why did Rich have so much student loan debt as a military officer?
- How quickly did Rich’s mindset change after he began dating his wife?
- When did Rich and his wife purchase their first rental property?
- House hacking runs deep in Rich’s family – how did his grandmother get him interested in house hacking?
- How many homes does Rich currently own and rent?
- How did Rich come to own these properties, and how did he pay for them?
- How much savings were Rich and his wife able to use to pay off their mortgage?
- Did Rich opt to pay off his mortgage as his sole investment, or did he also contribute to his retirement accounts?
- Rich didn’t purchase any other houses until his initial mortgage was paid off.
- How does appreciation work?
- How to get from one house to 20 houses…
- What is a price-to-rent ratio and the 1% rule, and why did Rich decide to invest in Montgomery, Alabama?
- Are there deals to be found in the MLS?
- What are the advantages of purchasing a house with cash?
- Smaller, less-populated and less-advertised cities inside the U.S. are more likely to offer deals that fit into the 1% rule.
- Are Zillow, Trulia, and other easily accessible online tools useful?
- How involved is Rich in maintaining his properties, and why he did opt to use a property management company?
- Building a strong relationship with his property management company gave Rich the opportunity to continue buying properties while living overseas.
- Generally, someone can expect expenses to cost about 50% of the rent.
- Rich owns 16 properties in an LLC, and the remaining four are in IRAs.
- What’s next for Rich and his family as he approaches 20 years in the military?
Links:
“Why You Need F-You Money” – JL Collins
