Meet Aaron Amen - Scratching that entrepreneur itch with real estate
Real estate is one of those businesses that never goes out of style
Good morning,
We’ve all heard that starting a business is a risky and an incredibly difficult undertaking. Only 25% of new businesses make it to their 15 year mark!
Yet many of us are drawn to the idea of building our own company. One that reflects our morals, ambitions, and thrives!
So if you have this yearning, might as well try and reduce risk wherever possible. Which makes building a real estate portfolio an appealing place to start. You don’t can leverage contractors, low overhead, and the underlying assets are well… assets!
This week’s investor made the decision that he’d like to scratch that entrepreneurial itch through real estate. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Aaron Ameen!
How many doors do you have?
“9”
What got you into real estate investing?
“My parents have invested in real estate for 20+ years so I was exposed to it while I was growing up. I watched them endure through the recession and come out back on top. I saw how transformational real estate was to allowing them to build wealth and even retire early.
I am a student of entrepreneurship and always loved the idea of building a business that can grow & sustain for decades. Real estate one of the few businesses that will never go out of style.”
What markets do you operate in?
“Las Vegas, NV, Cashmere, WA (Central Washington), and Quad Cities, Iowa”
How would you describe your portfolio?
“All single family long term buy & hold rentals.”
What are you currently buying?
“I'm investing in my first multi-family syndication deal this week. It's a 9-unit apartment building in Oakland, CA with a big value-add play to add 3 units & renovate the existing units.”
Tell us about your biggest mistake in real estate?
“When we bought our first rental property in Iowa (which is 2,000 miles away from us), we only interviewed one property management company and didn't speak to any of their current investors. I spent 2 hours on the phone asking the PM thorough screening questions and he talked good game. We quickly learned that everything he told us was a lie.
`(not good in Iowa in the winter), and they were allowing prospective tenants to view the property unsupervised. We fired him and 3 weeks later the company went out of business. Turns out the whole operation was a sham. Lesson: NEVER skip any steps in your due diligence process and always speak to current investors.”
Tell us about your biggest win in real estate?
“The moment we knew we were truly "real estate investors" was when we did a cash-out ReFi on our primary home to buy our 3rd & 4th rentals. They were unique off-market deals brought to us directly by our agent in Las Vegas. Both were on 5-year leases paying significantly above market rents with rent escalators.
These types of leases are unheard of in residential real estate. At the time we didn't have money for 25% down payments on both, but we found a lender that let us put 10% down. After a cash-out ReFi on our primary and some careful maneuvering, we bought both properties. That single decision completely altered our trajectory and laid a strong foundation for us to build upon, and those two properties provide our largest cash flow to this day.”
Outside of real estate what else do you invest in?
“On top of a healthy cash reserve, I also invest in stocks (usually ETFs), I-bonds, max out the annual Roth IRA contribution for my wife & I, contribute to 529 and UTMA accounts for my daughter, & hold a whole life insurance policy with cash value for my wife.”
Books people should read before investing
“The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
Real Estate By The Numbers by J. Scott & Dave Meyer
A Wealth of Common Sense by Ben Carlson”
What advice would you give to a new investor?
“Spend some time finding a way to clearly articulate your "Why". It sounds boring, but it's SO important. The type of real estate investing I do (buy & hold long-term rentals) is a long-term game in which most of the returns play out over a 10+ year time horizon.
Ask yourself if you're willing to put in time & effort up front to build a scalable system that you can build upon in the decades to come. Once you've answered those questions, then you'll be ready to jump in.”
Learn more about Aaron Ameen on Twitter (click here)
This Week on the Podcast
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Enough Business
"Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were."
-John D. Rockefeller
Monday’s podcast:
Passionate Income with Brian Rueben