Some of my favorite memories as a kid were tagging along with my grandmother "Mager" on the first of every month. Her name was Mary but when I was very little when I said Mary it came out Mager ... so it stuck. I was probably around eight or nine years old, sitting in the back seat of their car as we drove from house to house collecting rent.
Mager would have her little notebook in hand, and my grandpa would chat with the tenants. It was a whole routine. And me? I was the kid with the screwdriver and flashlight. My job was to handle the “little stuff” — tighten a loose door handle, replace a light bulb, fix a squeaky cabinet. I thought I was just helping out, but in reality, I was learning lessons that would end up shaping my entire life.
I can still hear my grandmother’s voice. She’d talk about the importance of owning property — how having rental homes gave them freedom, stability, and options. She’d say, “People will always need a place to live. If you take care of your properties, they’ll take care of you.”
That stuck with me.
So when I bought my very first house, I already knew it wouldn’t be my last. From the beginning, I planned to turn it into a rental one day. What I didn’t realize was that one little house would become the foundation for everything that came after — every job I took, every business I started, every risk I was willing to take.
Having rental properties changed the way I looked at life. I was never afraid to fail, because I knew I had something solid to fall back on. That steady rental income gave me the confidence to try new things — and even when I fell on my face a few times, I could always get back up and keep going.
It’s funny how the decisions you make early on, and the sacrifices you’re willing to make, can completely change the trajectory of your life. It didn’t happen overnight. It took sacrifice, discipline, and a willingness to think long-term when everyone else was chasing short-term rewards. But over time, those properties gave me freedom — not just financial freedom, but the freedom to make choices based on opportunity, not fear. For me, choosing to invest in that first rental property gave me a kind of security that no paycheck ever could.
The Advantages of Owning Rental Property
There are countless benefits to owning rental properties, but here are a few that have personally made the biggest impact on my life:
Residual Income: Rent checks keep coming in, month after month, even when other income sources fluctuate.
Financial Security: Real estate provides a safety net that helps weather job changes, business risks, and life’s unexpected turns.
Appreciation and Equity: Over time, properties tend to increase in value, while your tenants help pay down the mortgage.
Tax Advantages: From depreciation to deductions, rental ownership offers numerous tax benefits that can significantly improve your bottom line.
Legacy Building: Real estate creates something tangible to pass down — a foundation for future generations, just like my grandmother built for me I will then pass down to my 4 daughters.
Passing It On
My hope now is to pass along what my grandmother passed to me — that understanding of how powerful it can be to have residual income.
Life is unpredictable. Jobs change, markets shift, plans fall apart. But when you’ve got a little bit of consistent income from real estate, you get to move through life with a lot more peace of mind.
That’s what I want others to experience, that sense of freedom, that ability to take chances and grow without being held back by fear.
If a few rent checks and a handful of houses could change my life, there’s no telling what they could do for someone else.
