How many of you real estate investors are still working a 9–5 versus those who are actually living full-time off their rental cash flow? 🤔🏠💰 The reason I ask is because I strongly believe having a steady source of income while building your real estate portfolio is extremely important, especially in the early stages. Your W-2 income not only helps fund your deals, renovations, and down payments, but it can also strengthen your borrowing power and credibility with lenders. Personally, my 9–5 funds my 5–9! 💪 I’ve been able to scale my rental portfolio by leveraging my full-time income while also flipping properties to generate additional capital to reinvest into more rentals. My strategy has always been simple: Use active income to acquire assets that eventually generate enough passive income to replace that active income. I don’t believe in rushing to quit your job just because you own a few rental properties. There’s nothing wrong with having a six-figure career while building a real estate empire on the side. The goal isn’t just to quit your 9–5. The goal is to build enough financial freedom that working becomes a choice, not a necessity. Curious to hear from other investors: Are you still working a 9–5 while building your portfolio, or have you reached the point where your rentals completely cover your living expenses? And for those investing full-time, how many doors and how much monthly NET cash flow did it take before you felt comfortable leaving your job? 👇

Actual prospective tenant message I received today: “Good evening, my husband, myself, and my mom are looking to move soon. We currently have 5 dwarf goats and 13 chickens, with one being a rooster. Inside animals are two dogs and one cat. I was wondering if any or all of our animals would be allowed?” Thoughts?

I know Dion says the renters pay your reserves, but it still hurts. Just this morning, I started to get a glimpse of what reserves really are, at least for me. I have had 30k in reserves for 2+ years, and it's always sat there as a buffer. I never thought I'd actually use it all. In the last few months, I'm down to 9k. I've had a really tough time with this especially since I don't have the W-2 income. What helped my little brain finally stop thinking about it was this. Some investors will keep gold in their portfolio to store value, IE spending power. I know a reserve account is not exactly the same thing, but to me, it is similar in that it is being set aside for a future purpose. Gold gets exercised for liquidity when needed, and my reserve account was exercised when it was needed. Essentially, both did what they were created for. I know people say reserves are an insurance policy. For me sometimes if things are put forth so simply I gloss over it. I don't know if any of this resonates with anyone else, but I figured I'd at least share it in case one person got some solace in it also. :) It was really messing with my mental state and this helped me. :) Have a great day!