Would you sell your car, live without plumbing and electricity, and shower at the gym daily to build a rental portfolio? Now, would you do it while having one of the most prestigious jobs on the planet? If you said yes to both, you might as well be Gary Striewski, rental property investor, DIY home renovator, and, yes, host of SportsCenter.

Wait… the host of SportsCenter used a bucket as a bathroom while renovating? Yep, but he’s got a good reason for going through the struggle.

Working at SportsCenter has always been Gary’s dream job, but when 2020 hit, he knew he needed an alternative income stream. Real estate seemed like the obvious answer, but without much savings and only a car to his name he didn’t have many options to invest. So what did he do? Sold his car, downgraded significantly, and picked up a condo for $20,000 down.

Fast forward a few years—Gary has turned that first condo into a full real estate portfolio, including a private ski house that’s soon to be a short-term rental. He’s had evictions, DIY renovations where he lived without plumbing for months, and closings that didn’t go as planned, but with persistence and grit, he’s become an expert investor. Follow Gary’s tenacity, and you can, too!

In This Episode We Cover:

How Gary turned a $20,000 down payment into ten rental units and a real estate portfolio

Gary’s “value-add” renovation that 99% of people would never do themselves

A huge tenant mistake Gary made that will cost you if you repeat it

Why you should constantly evaluate selling your rentals, even if they’re performing well

Whether or not condos are worth it as starter real estate investments 

Sports stars who (unsurprisingly) love real estate investing

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

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(00:00) Intro

(02:19) 1 Condo to 9 Rentals!

(04:06) Base Hit First Deal

(08:56) A Big Tenant Mistake

(12:48) $60K Profit in 1 Year!

(19:17) Living Without a Toilet for a Deal?

(25:24) First Short-Term Rental

(30:04) ANYONE Can Do This!

(32:33) They Invest in Real Estate, Too!?

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1087

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