2015

Bought my first duplex for $103k. It was a modest property in a good area of Lewiston, Maine, and I lived in the downstairs for over 2 years. Because I lacked experience, I had a property manager handle the tenants upstairs, and the tenants didn’t even know I was the building owner for quite a while.

Portfolio Value: $103,000

2016-2017

Lived simply and frugally, sticking to a budget and maintaining a small cash reserve, but still was close to being paycheck-to-paycheck at this point. The duplex in Lewiston started appreciating, and my tenant was faithfully paying down my mortgage for me.

Portfolio Value: $125,000

2018

I moved back in with my parents in Auburn, Maine. I did this primarily to save on living expenses and build up capital in hopes of using it as a down payment on future properties.

Portfolio Value: $145,000

2019

Bought 2 properties as a package deal, both in Auburn, Maine; a 3 unit and 6 unit. The total package cost for these 9 units was $385k. Saw some appreciation with my Lewiston duplex, and estimated its value at ~$150k.

Portfolio Value: $530,000

2020-2021

Barely broke even through COVID; many tenants weren’t paying, and the government assistance offered to landlords lagged behind by several months. In some cases, it didn’t cover more than half of the lost rent during this period.

Portfolio Value: $700,000

2021

While I was hanging on through COVID, I got married and started my own family. We were fortunate enough to get a great deal on a small 1,200 square foot home with a daylight basement in Hartford, Maine. Because of the timing and the fact that home prices were in the midst of drastically increasing, shortly after closing we already had a pretty significant amount of equity, despite only putting down 5% of the $250,000 purchase price.

Portfolio Value: $1M

2022

I decided to sell my 3 investment properties and get out of real estate. This was due to barely breaking even through COVID, not knowing what my long-term goal was, and also seeing a large amount of property value appreciation over the several years prior.

I ended up selling my Lewiston duplex and Auburn 6 unit property, keeping my Auburn 3 unit.

After all mortgages, fees, and taxes were paid, I netted just over $200k in raw profit from these 2 sales combined.

Portfolio Value: $600,000

2023

This was a big, pivotal year. I decided to stay in real estate long-term and find new properties to invest in. I tried my hand at wholesaling and eventually got my real estate license. I spent many hours networking, searching for potential properties, and then analyzing them.

Over the course of the year, I bought:

• Single family house (AKA “SFH”) for $62,500 (cash)

• 3 unit for $155,000. (conventional financing)

• 3 unit for $200,000 (seller financing)

• SFH for $114,000 (subject to financing)

• Primary residence (SFH) for $675,000 (seller financing)

• 2 unit for $134,000. (subject to financing)

I rented out the house we had bought in 2021 after purchasing the new one in 2023, and began work preparing to turn the basement into a second separate unit.

Many of these properties became worth significantly more than their purchase price; I spent time and money making repairs and upgrades to several of them, resulting in a positive ROI in terms of equity.

Besides the proceeds from my 2 sales in 2022, I used funds from my 401k and stock brokerage account to help fund the acquisitions and rehabs.

I also leveraged creative financing on a number of deals, taking over sellers existing mortgages and also obtaining a couple of seller-financed notes.

Portfolio Value: $2.2M

2024

I refinanced one of my Main St West Paris properties, which appraised for $393k (up from the $200k purchase price in 2023) and I was able to recoup all of the money I invested in the down payment and renovation costs, after paying off the original seller-financed note through the refi.

I then finished off the new basement apartment in Hartford, further forcing appreciation for that property before subsequently renting the new unit out.

Near the end of the year, I purchased a 3-unit apartment building in Rumford and a single family home in Lisbon. The Rumford property was turn-key with good tenants, and I chose to simply update heating units within each apartment to reduce annual utility cost. The single family home needed a light rehab, mainly cometic. Once that work has been completed, it will be rented out and cash-out renfinanced.

Portfolio Value: $3M

2025 & Beyond

I’ve slowed my aggressive acquisition phase, and am working to optimize my existing holdings. Reducing expenses, bringing units up to market rent, making miscellaneous repairs and upgrades, and finishing off additional units/living space where possible.

With some of the free time and relatively steady cashflow I’ve developed at this point, I’m helping others learn and adopt the strategies and tactics that have helped me get to where I am.