In October 2014, I was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina when I got an email from the gentleman who helped me with my very first real estate deal. He had another property available — a small 795-square-foot house in the barrio near downtown Tucson, Arizona.
There was just one problem: I was across the country. Buying a property sight unseen is intimidating, especially as a young Marine juggling training and deployments. But I wanted to grow, and I knew opportunities don’t always show up in your backyard.
I called a realtor I trusted from my time living in Tucson. She walked the property, confirmed the condition, and gave me the confidence to move forward.
The financing wasn’t ideal. Banks weren’t lending on small-dollar mortgages under $50,000, so I took out a personal loan for $52,000 at 11.49% interest from Navy Federal Credit Union. Painful, but it got me into the game. I closed on October 22, 2014, rented the property immediately, and attacked the debt with everything I had. By 2016, the house was completely paid off.
Then I made the move that changed everything: I refinanced, pulled out all of my original money, and left nothing invested. From that point on, the property was generating infinite returns.
Of course, not everything was smooth. The property manager I hired at first was incompetent. Between inefficient turnovers and poorly handled evictions, I lost thousands in missed rent. For a while, it felt like the deal was more stress than it was worth.
But real estate is a team sport. Three months into our marriage in 2016, Avery stepped in, identified the management problem, interviewed multiple companies, and hired new management. Almost overnight, our returns improved. The stress went away, the property stabilized, and the cashflow started rolling in.
Before & After Snapshot
2014 (Purchase)
Purchase Price: $49,000
Closing Costs: $1,342
All-In Cost: $50,342
Financing: $52,000 personal loan at 11.49%
Net Cashflow: None (loan payments absorbed all of it)
2025 (Today)
Current Value: ~$161,000
Loan Balance: ~$4,300
Equity: ~$156,700
Monthly Rent: ~$1,100
Net Annual Cashflow: ~$3,649
Lifetime Cashflow Received: ~$36,634
Money Left in the Deal: $0 (after refinance in 2016)
Lesson: Success in real estate isn’t about finding the “perfect” deal. It’s about taking action, solving problems, and building a team around you. If you do those things, time and good management can turn even a risky long-distance purchase into an infinite return.
PS: If you’re thinking, “That was 2014 — deals like that don’t exist anymore,” stay tuned. Over the next 8 weeks, I’ll share every property I’ve bought since 2011. Prices have gone up, yes — but the principles of patience, persistence, and smart management still work.
