My son turned 7 this past weekend. For the first time in several years, we hosted a birthday party. It was great fun. We had a scavenger hunt, pinata, and rode bikes. This event was a great reminder as to the reasons I decided to invest in real estate. I want to spend as much time with my family as I can, making sure to see every one of the kids’ sports games or plays and also making sure I have time to spend with my wife.
There are other reasons too. One is to keep the house on Mirror Lake my family owns near Wolfeboro in the family. My grandparents bought the land way back in the day and I’ve known it as the lake house my entire life. Many of the fondest memories I have come from that property and I want my children to experience the same. My grandmother is 96 and still owns the house. It will be passed on to my parents who are in their 70s. Maintaining a second property that appraises for twice their primary residence may not be in the cards forever. When the time comes for the conversation between my parents, sister, and I, I want to make sure that I can keep the house that brings us joy rather than it becoming a burden.
Another reason is I think being a landlord and property developer is something I can do well. I enjoy the challenges of coordination and communication. I like being able to express my creativity through my own property and look forward to sharing that with others. I am a problem solver and look forward to trying to help fix problems when they arise.
I’ve been stewing on this idea for awhile now, turning real estate into a new career for myself. I am currently employed by the government as a recreation specialist for the White Mountain National Forest. I love the job, but am finding myself worn down by the bureaucracy more and more. I started with the WMNF in 2015 and will hit my 8-year mark this winter. Soon I will be turning 36 and am staring down another 22 years of federal service before I can retire with full federal benefits. One way to look at this is that in 22 years, I will be able to retire. Federal benefits are great and I like the job, so why leave? I’m growing stagnant and would like a new challenge. Starting a business from the ground up is a foreign concept for me and presents all sorts of challenges that I look forward to overcoming.
However, when I step back and think about why it is that I’m chasing financial independence, it’s family. I love my wife and two children and cherish the time we have. Moments like his birthday this past weekend can add stress to life and seemingly be distractions from building this business, but I wouldn’t change any of it. I played with Legos and Nerf guns all day yesterday and loved it. The list of reasons for why I want this challenge of a career change is long, so when I feel overwhelmed, I turn back to reason number one: the family I absolutely love.