Working Millennials: Rent or Buy Real Estate? Part II

In Part I told you how I got into real estate and I haven’t looked back since. How can you, a young Millennial, get started?

Get creative! Figure out a way to come up with a down payment. I did. I borrowed from my dad. But what if that isn’t an option for you? Well, keep moving forward. Get creative.

The best way I have found to be creative is to speak directly with the decision maker. It’s the best way to find out the real story.

During my search for a multi-family property in Marlborough, MA I scoured the classified ads with a red pen. I came across an intriguing listing 40 minutes further west and decided to check it out. It was a “for sale by owner”.

I met the owner, a mid-60s aged gentleman. After walking through the property he offered to show me some other properties he’d be willing to sell. He basically owned the town. I got a master’s degree in real estate spending three hours driving around with him and listening.

We stopped by his house so I could meet his wife. He showed me their RV, their swimming pool, their ATVs. They were living where they wanted to live, travelling the country, and spending time with their grandchildren.

A genuine definition of success.

I know he would have worked with me.

But the location of the town was too far from my office.

Nevertheless, I learned a ton from him.

To wrap up our night, he told me he started out with n-o-t-h-i-n-g.

But HE STARTED.

And sometimes that’s all it takes to get you moving in the right direction.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.