Finding Freedom Through Investing
Hello! I’m Jamie Bolinger, co-owner of West Edge Investments, and after 6 years investing in real estate and helping clients buy, sell, and invest themselves, I’m thrilled to finally be sharing a blog to help investors and home buyers navigate the industry with ease. This blog is going to focus on all things real estate, based on my own experience building an investment business with my husband and business partner, Jacob.
Some of the things you can expect to see on this blog will include providing real estate insights and dos & don’t’s, articles featuring how to be a landlord, the best ways to make money through real estate, how to analyze deals, and wealth building resources you won’t want to miss. If you’d like to stay up to date with my blog posts, submit your information here - and thank you for your support!
LET’S GET INTO IT
In my first post, I want to talk about finding freedom through Real Estate Investing. It’s not new news, you can make money and create wealth unlimited ways today - just look at the way social media has changed the way we can make money, many influencers making hundreds of thousands (or more) on your favorite social app. I love seeing the creative ways people have found to turn their passions into opportunities to generate wealth.
But, since this is a real estate blog, it’s only natural that I point out that Real Estate has consistently proven to be a reliable and proven wealth building vehicle since the 1800s. It is said that over 90% of millionaires generated their wealth through Real Estate.
“Real Estate Investing, even on a very small scale, remains a tried and true means of building an individual’s cash flow and wealth.”
— Robert Kiyosaki —
There are so many ways to get involved in real estate investing, and in my humble opinion, if you are able, I think you should own at least one rental property or have some of your money invested in real estate. I don’t expect everyone to make real estate a career, but I do think it’s wise to take advantage of a proven wealth building avenue if have the opportunity. Let me share a bit about my personal experience and why I’m so passionate about getting just about everyone I know involved in real estate investing one way or another…
where it all began
When my husband purchased his first property (at the time we were only dating), I thought, “Ok, he is interested in this real estate thing, let’s see how it goes…if nothing else, it’s a place for us to live.” Jacob purchased a duplex in Mound, MN in 2016 and we house-hacked - meaning we lived in one unit and rented the other. Within just a few months of moving into the property, it clicked. Here we were, 24 years old living in a 2 bedroom unit on Lake Minnetonka…for roughly $600/mo. Sure it was a small 2 bedroom, sure we had a neighbor on the other side of the property whom we shared a yard and driveway with, but we were living on Lake Minnetonka enjoying all the lake life can offer and saving money while we did it! It was apparent that Jacob was on to something here. If you’re reading this you’ve probably heard of the book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ by Robert Kiyosaki - I hate to be so cliche, since almost everyone in real estate investing talks about this book, but it’s true that reading Rich Dad Poor Dad opened my mind to the possibilities of Real Estate in ways I had never considered before.
Fast forward a few years and we had made more real estate purchases and significantly grown our interest in continuing this real estate thing. Although, at this point in time I was deeply dedicated to my position at Life Time Corporate office and was looking forward to growing my career and climbing the corporate ladder as long as I could. Jacob in a similar position with the Fire Department in St. Louis Park. Real Estate at this point was simply a side-gig and something to provide some passive income and hopefully create a nest egg we could cash in on later in life. This strategy is what I recommend for most people who have interest dipping their toes in Real Estate. It’s a great way to build wealth and earn extra money each month but still have the ability to work a 9-5 or work on another passion.
As time went on, we began getting involved in more creative financing strategies, expanding our portfolio, and eventually hiring our great friend Adam to join our team and help manage renovation projects (a story for another time). But as all stories have to lead eventually, March of 2020 happened and the world came to an abrupt halt. We were in the middle of some large deals and did everything we could to keep the projects moving. We both continued in our full time careers and were fortunate to remain in our positions through the shut downs, but as we continued to grow, the stress set in - both managing full time jobs and trying to stay on top of all the demands of our investment business.
Over the following year, we hired on another employee, purchased even more real estate than any of our previous years, and begun creating more processes and systems within our business. Due to the pandemic, my career at Life Time had been challenging and as my interest in Real Estate had grown and I saw the opportunities it could provide, I finally made the choice to step into my Real Estate Career full time in the summer of 2021. When I tell you how grateful I was to have Real Estate to fall back on when I was beginning to feel unhappy in my corporate career - that is when I felt the true power of finding freedom in Real Estate.
Today, Jacob and I are both working full time in our real estate business and we wouldn’t have it any other way. I am so grateful that we made that first purchase in 2016 - not knowing what would come in 2020 and beyond, it was the start of a business that would ultimately help us get through some challenging times and grow into a business much bigger and better than ever I could have expected.
Our business has two primary focuses - the first is our investment business that currently manages our renovation projects, around 50 rental units with 5 employees. This is the foundation of our company that has grown into our Real Estate Holding company. The second is our investment consultancy where we help other investors break into the investment business, grow their current portfolio, or help buyers and sellers get the most out of their real estate purchase. We have a team of agents working with Rize Realty that can help our clients buy, sell, and invest, providing clients access to off market deals, consulting on investment strategies, and guidance through each step of a deal.
I’d love to have you follow along as I share more blog posts diving into the ins and outs of Real Estate - if you’d like to get my content in your inbox weekly, submit your email below. Cheers!
