For Bill, Jane, and their son Jeff,* real estate has now become a shared interest. But with two completely different perspectives of financial risk, it was actually Jeff who introduced his parents to the opportunity over an extended period of time.
“I think I just kind of told them what I was doing, and they were super skeptical, so it took me about three or four years to go from never talking about it at all to having my parents say, ‘Hey, maybe we want to do something like this too,’” Jeff said.
After dabbling in the stock market and other forms of investing, Jeff discovered the ease and high returns of syndicated real estate investments and was eager for his parents to share in the opportunity. At first, his explanation of this investment strategy was met with a fair amount of skepticism.
“There was definitely disbelief for the first few years, that’s for sure,” Jeff said. “My parents were like, ‘Wait a second. What happens next?’ So I explained monthly dividends and that the tax is deferred because of depreciation. It was just a whole new world that they had never even heard of. They definitely had some disbelief and probably thought, ‘Oh, gosh. What is Jeff doing with his time and money right now?’”
But Jeff stayed the course. He continued investing, and the money kept coming in. Eventually his parents began to take notice.
“After about four years, they realized that my strategy seemed to be working and decided to give it a try,” Jeff said. “So I think that was their approach, but we definitely don’t sit down and have huge family meetings about what the investment club is going to invest in today.”
Although Bill and Jane certainly put stock in their son’s advice, it was actually selling their home that became the final push they needed to get involved in real estate investing.
“We looked at those real estate opportunities before, but we are quite conservative,” Bill said. “But when we sold the house, it sold very quickly. We decided that we shouldn’t be as conservative with all our assets and we started looking at things that were more risky than our normal FDIC-guaranteed bank things.”
When Jeff’s parents decided to make the plunge, he was excited, albeit a little taken aback, that they had actually listened to his advice.
“When you’re trying something new, there’s a potential risk/reward associated with it,” Jeff said. “But it wasn’t my goal to convert them, so I was kind of surprised that they said they wanted to try this.”
Although Bill and Jane finally made the decision to invest, Jeff still remains cautious. He wants his parents to be comfortable with what they’re taking on, and for their investment to pay off in the long run.
“After they figured out the investment, I think they were more comfortable with it. I guess the truth is in the results, so we’ll see here in a few years,” Jeff said. “Does it pay off? I think that’s my biggest concern: I don’t want to recommend something that doesn’t work out. That’s why it took about a four-year time frame to get them started in investing. My reasoning for investing is probably different from theirs. It was important for them to be comfortable with it.”
Although they committed for different reasons, Bill, Jane, and Jeff all share a similar end goal when it comes to real estate investing.
“I’m retired now,” Bill said. “I’m just trying to maintain the luxury life with my wife.” It seems his son has a similar motivation.
“I do real estate investing as a side gig, so the desire is to just have a residual piece of income I’m not working for later in life,” Jeff explained.
Together, real estate investing has become a family affair, but it’s also been the perfect opportunity for them to invest passively, see big returns on their investments, and ultimately achieve financial freedom.
*The Best Ever Report respects the privacy of its participants. All likenesses within this article have been altered upon request for anonymity.
About the Author:
Leslie Chunta is a marketing consultant with nearly 15 years of experience in creating dynamic marketing programs and building brands for startups to enterprise organizations. She has worked agency- and client-side with high-growth companies that include Silicon Valley Bank, JPMorgan Chase, SailPoint, EMC, Spanning Cloud Apps, Ashcroft Capital, Netspend, and Universal Studios. www.thelabcollective.com
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to make or consider any investment or course of action.