Cody's high school civics teacher taught a secret lesson on real estate investing that changed his life. He skipped single-family homes and bought a 12-unit building as his first investment, then expanded to 24 apartments. He argues that borrowing capital and thinking long-term matter more than entry costs.
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Hey, what's up guys? This is Cody, and today's video is targeted at those who are in high school, college, still learning, getting educated. And I just wanted to create a little video to share the story that I heard in high school from one of my teachers that has been able to launch me into acquiring $2 million worth of rental real estate over the past 2 years since getting out of school. So there was senior year, I was trying to get great grades so that I could put that on my transcript and deliver that to my next school school, which in mind was Pacific Lutheran University or the University of Puget Sound, all local schools. And I wanted to pick the easiest class possible, and little did I know I ended up picking a class that wasn't quite so easy. But I went through civics, and I had a teacher who— that was actually their last year, they were retiring— and they were very, very organized. They mapped out from day 1 all the way to the end of the semester what class was going to look like. We opened up a journal, wrote it down, and one of the last days he had on that agenda was— it was a secret day. He was going to teach us how to make money when we sleep. And I was just thinking, well, I don't really know what to do. I don't know how that even makes sense. I just got to go to college, get a good job, get to work. Granted, I had read Rich Dad Poor Dad, but it had been a while, so I wasn't really thinking real estate. And so I did what any teenager would do at that age, and I asked my buddy who had already taken the class, the the previous semester. He said, oh, he's going to teach you how to buy a house, rent it out, and then one day buy another house and rent it out. Now, my civics teacher was a lawyer, and we got all the way through the semester, we got to the end, started teaching us about real estate. He was saying he had folks that were in his class 7, 8 years ago who started doing real estate, and now they're retired on a boat somewhere. And so I asked the question, well, have you made more money in real estate, or have you made more money as a lawyer? Because In my mind, I was thinking, well, lawyers have it made. And he said, by far, 100%, in real estate. Whatever you got to do to get in, get in. He borrowed money from his dad to get into his first deal. Granted, way back then, houses were cheaper. But he said, whatever it takes, you got to borrow money, you got to raise it, you got to make it, find a way to get into your first deal, and you can thank me later. And so there I was, I was thinking, wow, that's awesome. I was granted the only person in that class to take that super seriously. A lot of people were saying, oh well, housing prices are way higher now. There's no way this is applicable because my teacher started with $5,000 he borrowed. It's very hard to start with 5 grand nowadays. And so everyone kind of just brushed it off. I said, I'm gonna figure out a way to do this. And I told him that I'm gonna come back to you in about a year and a half, 2 years, and I'm gonna have 1 rental property. I'm going to make this happen. And surely enough, he's a lawyer, he still works here in Tacoma. And I graduated from Wilson High School, got through it, ended up going to a community college, which wasn't my first choice, and got licensed as a real estate agent. I talked a little bit about that story in a previous video. But that led into me learning about real estate in a further sense. I got to jump in full bore. I got my first 12-plex, and then I went back to this teacher, my civics teacher who had retired. He was still working as a lawyer in Tacoma, and I just called up his office and I said, hey, I'm looking to get a meeting with you. I want to share something with you. And, and as soon as I walked in, he remembered me. He remembered what I told them, and he asked me if I got any apartments, and I said I got 12. I skipped the 1, I skipped the 2, I skipped the 4, and I just went straight to 12. And it's all because of his story saying no matter what it takes, get into real estate. If you're 18, you're 17, you're 16, there are going to be a lot of people that say, oh, it's too much money, prices are higher. I just want to share with you that's not the case. You're not buying on price. You're going to have a down payment. You're not going to pay cash. Get committed to the long-term play. Focus on the thing that has the most upside because even if it's impossible, it's worth striving for. A lot of folks in my class say, oh, that's impossible. If I listen to that, I would not have the 24 apartments that I have today, and I wouldn't be working on taking down another 32 right now. And so focus on the thing that has the most upside. Don't get caught up in the little details. Focus on your potential. Don't focus on a dollar right now. You don't need to be the richest kid in school. You don't need to be the richest person in your office. You don't have to be making the most money. But if you focus on your potential, improving you, forget the paycheck right now, but just keep on building yourself, building your skills, and focus on that story, focus on building your story, building who you are. As long as you keep doing that, you're going to succeed. You're going to hit your targets. You will get setbacks, but you're going to make it there as long as you don't quit. So with that, keep that story in mind. Most teachers aren't going to share that with you. I was very fortunate to have mine share that with me, but now it's my turn to share it with you. Start learning, get focused, Take what you learn and now share it with the world. It's your obligation and your duty. So make it happen. Hope you guys have a great night. If you like the channel, please do subscribe, and I'll see you guys next time.
