After a strong case of “mommy guilt” working as an assistant principal, pregnant with her second child, Deba Douglas knew she needed a way out of the rat race. A run-in with Rich Dad Poor Dad prompted her to begin saving so she could start buying rental properties. She called her lender, found a property, and spent her and her husband's entire savings on the down payment. Little did she know that this one decision would set her life’s course in an entirely different direction. Now, just seven years after first looking into real estate investing, Deba has thirty rental properties and doesn’t work at her W2 anymore! How did she do it so fast, especially with kids to care for, bills to pay, and no prior experience in real estate investing? One BAD piece of beginner advice could have thrown her entire investing career off track, but she quickly learned from her mistake and leveled up at light speed! Deba is sharing how she went from real estate investing zero to hero, doing everything from BRRRR (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat) investing, building new construction rental properties, flipping houses, and becoming an agent herself to help other investors. Want to escape the nine-to-five grind and get on the fast track to financial freedom? Do it all like Deba! In This Episode We Cover: The one critical mistake Deba made on her second deal that could have cost her severely The truth about becoming a real estate agent (and why it isn’t as easy as you think) Regular realtors vs. investor-friendly realtors (you CANNOT mix them up!) When it’s time to quit your job and become a full-time real estate investor Why Deba is still buying in a market that is seeing price declines in 2024 The massive benefits of new construction rental properties (and why they make sense in 2024) And So Much More! Links from the Show Join BiggerPockets for FREE Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show! Grab the Book, “Rich Dad Poor Dad” Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area See Dave at BPCON2024 in Cancun! Do You NEED an "Investor-Friendly" Agent? Connect with Deba Connect with Dave (00:00) Intro (02:00) Chasing Financial Freedom (05:16) First Property, Then BIG Mistake (14:16) Did It Work Out? (15:59) Quitting Her Job (20:53) Investing and Selling Homes (23:06) Deba's Portfolio (24:18) Building New and BRRRRing (26:50) Investing in a Declining Market (33:38) Goals and Best Beginner Investment Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1027 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices