FIRE By Real Estate: Advice for Future Real Estate Investors with Tom Brickman

[00:00:00] Eric Brotman: Welcome to Don’t Retire, graduate, the podcast that asks you what you want to be when you grow up so you can graduate into retirement with purpose and passion. I’m your host in valedictorian, Eric Brotman, and our guest today is Tom Brickman. Tom is a proud married dog dad from Dallas, Texas. He recently retired from his nine to five work to work on real estate.
He has 22 properties now. Um, it’s a resale business. He also runs the frugal gate.com. Uh, he provides one-on-one coaching, covers financial literacy and real estate for building wealth. And I’m so excited, Tom, to have you on the show. Welcome to Don’t Retire Graduate. Thank
[00:00:41] Tom Brickman: you for having me. I’m excited to be here.
Well,
[00:00:44] Eric Brotman: you know, most folks don’t re and I’m putting retiring quotes. Most folks don’t retire at 30. You know, I’m well beyond 37 and decidedly not retired. So, um, so let’s talk a little bit about that. Did you mean to do that? Was this on purpose?
[00:00:59] Tom Brickman: It was a goal, [00:01:00] yes. I’ve been working towards it at least 10 years.
Um, but I worked at a movie theater for. Almost 16 years. And I knew that I did not want to work for another employer cuz making more money at a different job that I didn’t like wasn’t going to make me happy. So I made it a goal in 2009 that I was gonna buy a property a year. I had bought a couple before 2009.
I had bought a money pit in there and I didn’t give up after that one. And, um, I started to make money at door number five and I knew that if I kept buying one a. It could get me outta here without having to go to another employer. All right,
[00:01:38] Eric Brotman: so, so the story, and I, I’ve, I know a little bit about the story and some of the, uh, some of the properties that you’re buying are, are buying unloved, unwanted, often unsightly properties and turning them into something else.
Which is, so there’s some social good here too for neighborhoods as well. Uh, how did you decide to do, was that on purpose? Did you, did you [00:02:00] seek that out or was that because that was what you could afford to buy when you were first buy indoors?
[00:02:04] Tom Brickman: That’s what I could afford to buy. And actually I just finished one.
Um, and it had b, it was a foreclosure, it was a bank owned and it had been on the market for. Eight months. Mm-hmm. And it just sat there. It was ugly, but it was really good bones, and I threw in a really low offer. My realtor’s like, you’re not gonna get that. And this is just this past August. And um, the bank came back the next day and they’re like, we’ll take your offer.
So I still do it even though I could afford more, but it’s still one of those that, and, and then what’s awesome is I put this one up for rent a couple weeks ago. We just finished. We had like 19 applications the first day before people. Wow. Had even seen it. So people, yeah, people were excited. It’s in a good spot and it looks really, really sharp now.
So being in that spot where you can put something back in commission, that, and this thing, it took me months just to get the electric on cuz it had been off for so long. So it’s one of those that had sat there for two years, unloved and untouched. [00:03:00] Mm-hmm. And now it’s back in.
[00:03:02] Eric Brotman: That’s phenomenal. And, and I’m, you know, like I said, that’s good for neighborhoods, it’s good for families.
Uh, lots of people win anecdotally, sort of, sort of in an ancillary way on these things, which is, which is wonderful. So, um, I, I tell a lot of folks, you know, we, we represent families all over the country and we often get asked about real estate as an investment. And specifically we get asked, you know, I’m gonna buy my second home, uh, or I’m gonna buy a a different house.
Should I rent out my current one? And the advice that I give, and I’m interested to hear whether you think my advice is spot on or not. The advice that I typically give is either decide you’re gonna be in real estate or don’t, don’t have just one property. Because in my mind that’s like having a portfolio with one stock and a lot can go wrong and you, you said you had a money pit.
If you only have one property and you have a lousy tenant or so, or, or you have significant bones issues in the home or whatever. You’re, you’re sunk. You’re in [00:04:00] deep, deep trouble. Whereas if you have 10 properties and you have one lousy tenant, you can survive that. So how am I doing from an advice standpoint on the real estate side?
[00:04:08] Tom Brickman: Completely agree. Completely agree. Okay. And that’s what I tell people when I start with ’em is, you know, I started making money at number five and it took me getting to number five and lots of duds and some bad tenants and an eviction. And I mean, I learned everything. I started at 21, so I had no idea what I was doing.
And I was just wing it and. A terrible landlord, uh, to start. Cuz I lived at the property. I was actually house hacking, so I was not a, a fun neighbor, I’ll say that. But I didn’t know, you know, I just didn’t know. I didn’t that first. I’m like, I wanna live in a place that’s cheaper. And that was the goal. And that first winner when that furnace went out and I had to come up with like $2,500 real quick.
I’m like, Figure this out quick. And same thing when a water heater went out, and I mean, you just learn as you go. So yeah, I, I agree with that spot on. It’s not for that one door. I mean, you can do it with the one door, but [00:05:00] again, you have to really build up your, if, if, if you’re gonna retire from this, that one door is not gonna cut it unless it’s, you know, an amazing 18 bedroom door that you can rent out all the different bedrooms or, or something like.
[00:05:15] Eric Brotman: So a boarding house, you’re gonna, you’re gonna create a, basically you’re gonna create a hostel somewhere in, in Dallas. Are, are all the properties you own within that radius, are they close to, are they all in Texas? Are they all in in the Dallas region?
[00:05:29] Tom Brickman: They are not. So I have, um, 14 up, 14 doors up in Ohio, and I have eight in Dallas are my, my 22.
And I don’t count my, uh, Own residents as a door, right, because, uh, it’s not producing
[00:05:41] Eric Brotman: income. No, it’s not. In fact, it costs you money every day, every single day. So why Ohio? Do you have ties to Ohio? Or, or
[00:05:50] Tom Brickman: how did that happen? Everyone asks. Um, that’s where I started in college. And um, it was uh, I bought a $90,000, duplex was the first one [00:06:00] and I lived upstairs, rented out the downstairs.
It covered almost my whole mortgage. It was a perfect scenario. Left Ohio. That one continue. I still hold that one 19 years later and it’s still making me money. Um, and I bought a bunch in Dallas and then when I got priced out of Dallas, like 2018 is when it started to not make sense to keep buying hair cuz I was cash flow negative.
I went back and what I found is Ohio is a great cash flow town, but a terrible appreciation town and Dallas is a wonderful appreciation with very little cash flow, especially if anything you buy right now. So it makes sense to be in both markets, uh, cuz you definitely don’t want to just bank on cash and you just don’t wanna bank on appreciation either.
[00:06:41] Eric Brotman: So I, I really like that, that approach because the two ways to make money in real estate are those two ways the value of your property and your equity can grow or you can be cash flow positive and it’s sometimes hard to be both on the same property. Um, I I, is this. Is this something you’re now [00:07:00] teaching people how to do this?
Correct. You’re coaching folks one-on-one, you’re helping folks do, are you doing co purchases with people or are you basically saying, here’s, here’s how to do it, you’re on your own? Or what is the, what is the, the approach you’re taking with that? I’m,
[00:07:12] Tom Brickman: I’m doing all of, all of the above. I just started doing the, the co purchases, um, because there’s some that, you know, want to do it and have the money and don’t have that skillset to find the right property.
And, you know, I like to make money when I’m buying the property. So when I’m signing paperwork and I just am buying another property this week, We should go in with $4,000 equity, which isn’t a ton when you think about it, but once we fix it up and, and get it rented, it’s a solid property. And a lot of people, you know, who come to me are the ones who are like, I tried it, I lost $50,000.
I don’t wanna do that again. Let’s try this the second time and see if we can do it right this time. So, um, do the teaching. Do the, um, partnerships and I’m open to all of that and it’s case by case with me. Cuz I don’t wanna take on something that I don’t [00:08:00] think I can help you or in a market that I’m not familiar with cause mm-hmm.
When you contact me and say, let’s go to Kentucky, I say, you are good in Kentucky. I am not. That’s, I don’t have a team there. Uhhuh. I’m uhhuh, I’m, I’m not going there. But, um, you know, it’s case by case with, with all of.
[00:08:17] Eric Brotman: Are, are you, um, how do you handle some of the liability issues? Are you doing LLCs per property?
Are you setting up entities to protect you if one tenant falls down the stairs in their property to protect the other 21 doors? Like how are you, how are you handling some of the, some of the, the legal stuff? Yeah, I,
[00:08:34] Tom Brickman: I usually batch ’em. Um, so it’s like two or three properties in an llc and that’s, Legality, and that’s for loan purposes.
And so yes, I have, I have multiple different LLCs across the states set up and you know, there’s some LLCs with just one door and then there’s some, like Ohio, when I’m buying a $50,000 door, we group three properties together.
[00:08:57] Eric Brotman: Got it. So, so that way you’re [00:09:00] sharing some of the liability, but you also can share some of the cash flow.
So if two of ’em are, are positive and one’s negative, you can offset that. And so, For sure, for sure. So what kind, so, so you’ve got a, a team of, I presume, a team of people who do the, the work, the rehabs, the the, so you must have two full crews in Texas and Ohio at this point, or people you know, in every, every fix up opportunity.
You’ve got plumbers and electricians and, and carpenters and all those folks in all these towns, or just handy. You
[00:09:28] Tom Brickman: know what? Uh, a mix of both. Okay. Like I have really strong, a really strong plumber in Ohio that I wish I had in Texas and a really strong, um, contractor in Texas that I wish I had in Ohio.
So I have a mix of a really solid team across the two states and, um, I’ve been, I even as ear or as late as last year, I was burned on a project where I hired an electrician. He did half the work. He asked for the second half of the draw. I paid him the money and then he ghosted me. So that was a $3,500 [00:10:00] lesson.
Wow. So it’s, it, it, yeah, it happens. And that, you know, I try and, you know, explain that to people, and I hadn’t worked with this electrician before this project, and it was, I needed a certain set of stuff done per the city, per the permit. And he’s like, yes, I can do it. And he did do half, and then he just, Went Wow.
Missing. So now that happens. It happens.
[00:10:22] Eric Brotman: Now what do you, what do you do when that happens? I mean, obviously you eat it, but do you, are you yelping to make sure that nobody else gets taken by these folks? Like, have you, are you, are you doing sort of helping others with due diligence when you run into a bad apple?
Or are you sort of just letting it be, uh,
[00:10:37] Tom Brickman: with, well, with that one, I didn’t Yelp, um, cuz I, there was no Yelp available for that, but I did do a report cuz he was licensed to the, the state and it came back that the license that he was using was his father’s license. So it, it’s is just, yeah, it, it gets messy.
And of course I’m like, you know, uh, I, I just had a client who bought up there and I’m like, you know, [00:11:00] if you’re looking for this, this is the contractor I’d use and I’ve had good success with him. Another thing that I don’t like, and I’ve had this happen before, if I do a referral and then they’re not happy with the job, I don’t want ’em to come back to me and be like, this looks like crap.
Why did you recommend them? So I’m very careful with who I do the referrals on. Um, I have a couple in Texas especially who do the new build, so I know that they’re up to par and, and can definitely make a, a client happy. So I’ll definitely do referrals on them. But then there’s other ones like, you don’t wanna refer out because you need them to work on your projects.
I, I would say I’m selfish in that aspect where I don’t do referrals on everything.
[00:11:38] Eric Brotman: Okay. Now, now you’re, we talked about the diversified ways to make money in real estate. Are there other things you’re looking to do to diversify your own personal income so that you’re not fully dependent on real estate, specifically on rental?
[00:11:55] Tom Brickman: Yeah. Right behind me, I am in my eBay room and Ah-huh. [00:12:00] The reason I do, the reason I do e So everything behind
[00:12:02] Eric Brotman: you is for sale. Everything behind you is for sale.
[00:12:06] Tom Brickman: Yes. Oh my goodness. Listed up on eBay. So, um, and this has been my safety blanket since I was in my early TW while I was in college. I was, I started by selling purses and they were a dollar 50 purse that I bought, and eBay didn’t even have buy it now, so I’d sell them.
Um, two at a time. Cause I had two colors and I’d sell ’em for like 60 bucks a piece and ship ’em out each week. And that was how I started. So this is, I call eBay my safety blanket, which is a way for me to generate income without very little effort. And yes, I do have to ship the items, I fulfill my own.
Items, but it’s something that when I have a really bad real estate month and all the furnaces break, I can go really hard and get stuff listed and I’ve got that backup money. And I mean, I have emergency funds and all that for it, but eBay is one of those that’s just been there over the last 18 years.
And I can do as much or as little as I like with [00:13:00]
[00:13:00] Eric Brotman: it. So you have a, a, a big relationship with one of the major shipping companies. You, FedEx, or UPS or somebody loves you cuz you’re, you’re keeping them in business.
[00:13:09] Tom Brickman: We’re actually mostly post office and we have our favorite cashiers there, and they know us by name and, and Okay.
Um, you know, we’ll, we’ll bring ’em a coffee sometimes and we have a good rapport with them. Oh, that’s good. And we don’t do a ton, but we’ll do like, You know, 5, 7, 10 sales a day. So we’re not like a huge, and again, that’s at my pace and that’s where I’m at. And there’s times where I’ll travel up to Ohio, so I can’t be here to ship item.
So I don’t like to overload, but I also like it. So if I need something coming in, I’ve got that always.
[00:13:42] Eric Brotman: I find your, um, I find your professional life fascinating because it is so foreign to me because I stay, you know, and, and I run three companies and I’m at them and it’s very hands on. And, uh, you don’t have to deal.
You’re working with contractors, but you [00:14:00] don’t deal with employees. You don’t deal with office space. You don’t. Uh, employee benefits and all those kinds of things. Of course, you have to make sure you’re taking care of yourself and doing some of those, which I, I presume you have done your own retirement plans and those things.
I hope if you haven’t, we’ll talk after. Yes. But, but it’s a completely different professional existence than mine, and you look darn comfortable and happy. So there, there must be something about not putting on a movie theater uniform and going in and, and, and dealing with that. This has to be a huge, huge shift and a wonderful one.
What’s it feel like to wake up in the morning to know that you’ve already made money that day while you’re making your coffee? And to know that everything you’re doing now is accretive?
[00:14:43] Tom Brickman: I, I love it. And it’s, it’s one of the, you know, when I woke up this morning, I had three eBay sales in there. So I’m like, oh, this sold, this sold, this sold.
And um, you know, I get to build a calendar and a schedule that are important to me, which I couldn’t do before. I’d ask for pto and next week I’m going up and [00:15:00] visiting family in Ohio. So, The flexibility and, you know, being able to fill my calendar with things that matter. You know, after this I’m going to the gym and, and I’ve got a meeting this afternoon.
So it’s one of those that I can build a day around what I want to do and where my priorities are, and then I’ll circle around. Right before we started, I was ordering a sync for a contractor for a project that we’re working on, and I like that. And I like that I could just take a day off or a weekend off if I want to, and.
I couldn’t do that before and I thought about that this summer. It was my first time away from the theater during the summer and I’m like, man, I can’t, I can’t even remember what July was like, cuz you can never ask out for July cuz it’s busy and there’s movies and this and that. And just this past year has been fantastic, exciting, and just things that I had forgotten about.
Like I think I’ve spent more time with my family in the past 14 months than I had in the past 15 years prior. Wow. And that’s, uh, you know, you forget about some of those things and those [00:16:00] little, you know, sitting around playing a card game with a family while you can, and, and those are things that go to the wayside when you’re working this job and you’re on call and you’ve gotta respond to this quickly, or you’ll get in trouble and you’ve gotta change this and you’ve gotta cancel this and do this.
And, you know, your priorities shift as you transition into this space. And as people, you know, I just had a meeting this week with someone who’s just starting out. With their, it was really hard the first couple months, but it got easier as I went and as I filled up my calendar with things that were important.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And it took me, it took me, you know, three months to figure it out cuz I was like, man, this sucks. Maybe I’ll go work at Starbucks, maybe I’ll do this. And then I’m like, oh wait, I could do the, and you know, I signed up for some volunteer stuff to keep some structure. Cause that was what it was, was like, it’s Monday morning, I don’t have to drive into work.
Um, so yeah.
[00:16:52] Eric Brotman: It’s, it’s interesting to consider yourself retired because it sounds like you’re not, it sounds like you’re working, you’re [00:17:00] just not working for someone else. Um, if you were to never buy another property, could you live comfortably or reasonably comfortably as you define that on the cash flow coming from the doors you own?
[00:17:16] Tom Brickman: Absolutely. And uh, I just did my taxes this week and he’s like, how many more of these are we gonna do? He’s like, you, you would’ve been, wait, I bought five last year. And he’s like, okay. You know, if we would’ve not done these five, we would’ve been in a whole lot. He like took those out. He’s like, this is where you would’ve ended up Uhhuh.
This is where you really ended up, cuz you spent your money back into these new five and this, you know. Mm-hmm. They didn’t make money off the bat, so I did renovations and I, the majority of them were vacant and dilapidated rundown when I bought ’em. So he’s like, how many more are we gonna do? And I’m like, strategically I’m going to, you know, do a few and, and this year I think I’ll end up at like four or five.
Okay. Um, but again, some of them are the partnerships. Mm-hmm. But, um, I [00:18:00] will strategically upgrade. So like some of the older ones, maybe it’s time to sell off that duplex cuz as, as I do this, you know what you like more and not, and I don’t want to hear about Becky smoking downstairs and complaining with this neighbor.
And I, I, I’m pa you know, and I have a manager, but some of the tenants have been there so long. I have some that have been there 12 years now. So I was the self. Person. So I still get contacted when Becky’s outside smoking, and I don’t care, I don’t even know who Becky is at this moment, but I’m still getting with some of the older tenants.
[00:18:30] Eric Brotman: Right. Well, what She’s smoking, like, we just don’t know. Right. Could be anything. Right. All right. So,
[00:18:35] Tom Brickman: so, oh my goodness. I’ll, I’ll, I’ll maybe do some upgrades, but I really do feel like my port, I, I always said I’d stop at 10 and I didn’t stop at 10. And I do feel like maybe some trade up or something like that would make sense.
But yes, I’m, I’m good with my portfolio where I’m at.
[00:18:51] Eric Brotman: So, so that’s, that’s, that leads me to the next, uh, question because there’s, when you, when you run a business and you’re [00:19:00] running a business, you’re running two I guess, or 22, however we wanna look at it. But let’s just say you’re running two businesses.
One is a side hustle, that’s eBay, one is your primary business, that’s real estate. Um, There are different economic conditions that will impact lots of things. And this has been an interesting few years. You quit the movie theater before or after the Covid shutdown?
[00:19:21] Tom Brickman: After I put in my notice before and then they talked me into staying and then I regretted staying that two extra years.
So I quit in, uh, January of 22. But I, I was ready in, um, August of, uh, 2019 is when I was.
[00:19:36] Eric Brotman: Ready, but a little freaked out at not having a paycheck.
[00:19:39] Tom Brickman: Yeah. And I, I did get some extra doors during that period, so it worked out and it positioned me stronger for 2022, the beginning of it. Okay. And, um, that, and that.
So in that aspect it was good, but I, I would’ve probably been okay if I had left in August of, of 19.
[00:19:55] Eric Brotman: How has inflation and, uh, rising interest rates, how has that helped [00:20:00] you? Are you, are you financing most of these properties? Are you paying cash for most of these properties? Um, if you have fixed mortgages at ridiculously low rates and now you’re seeing rent escalation, is that a, a win for you?
Are you feeling good about that? Like what, how have the, how’s the interest rate environment affected not only the properties you’ve owned a long time, but also the ones you’re looking at currently?
[00:20:21] Tom Brickman: Um, I’m conservative, but I started in 2004, so our rates were 6.85 back in 2004 when I started. So I was already there, and if it cash flowed there at six or seven or 8%, I can make it cash flow at three or 4% if it ever.
So, um, I’m looking at everything a little bit differently, like the one that I’m working on right now in Dallas. I was thinking of doing a refinance and I’m in it a little bit like a a percent lower, and now I’m like, you know what? I don’t need that money right now. We’re just gonna let it fly. How it is, it’s in a 15 year, um, commercial loan on that one.
And, um, You know, looking at it on a case by case, but I’m [00:21:00] certainly not staying away cuz if I want control of the asset, I can make it work with the interest that it is and, um Okay. That’s how I’m looking at these. And, and like last year I strategic, I sold one and I bought five and I bought four of those in cash.
Um, okay. Last year. So, so it’s, it’s one of those as well where if it makes sense, um, I, I, I’m all in. And, um, that’s where I’m at with, you know, um, the, the benefit. Yes, I do have some properties that are in that two, three, 4% range and. The, the pro, like I, when I was doing my taxes, I’m like, oh my gosh. The ones that you don’t think, those are the ones that are making tons of money, just cuz And I’m not one of those that is constantly raising rents, but it’s, it’s a little bit below market on this one and it’s, um, in, down in South Dallas and it’s a, a rougher property, but when I bought it, I just bought it at the right time, at the right price with the right interest rate and mm-hmm.
Um, did a ton of work to it. So it’s, everyone wants to rent it whenever it comes available. Mm-hmm. [00:22:00] And, uh, it makes a lot of. So that’s wild. I’ve, yeah, I’ve got some locked in at, at great rates and then I’m not worried about the ones that will, um, time out because, you know, maybe that’s when I sell off one of ’em and, and just pay off that completely.
And don’t worry about doing any kind of refinance or carrying debt on, on those certain ones.
[00:22:20] Eric Brotman: How many of the properties that you own are multi-family? Are they all individual unit? You said there was a duplex, but are, are most of them one or two unit structures as opposed to you’re looking at apartment buildings now?
[00:22:33] Tom Brickman: Um, I’m looking at those again strategically if it’s the right project, cuz there’s always those four or five, six units that come up and then I’m like, oh, this will be a disaster by the time I’m done with it. Mm-hmm. So, um, I do have one commercial space that is mixed use with some reside. And everything else is, is either single or uh, multi-family.
Yes.
[00:22:55] Eric Brotman: Are you exploring other avenues in the real estate [00:23:00] space other than, uh, residential or mixed use? Are you, are you looking at commercial? I mean, commercial real estate’s in a. In a doldrum right now, it’s a scary place because the workplace has changed so much and certainly nobody’s excited about buying malls or unless you’re gonna turn ’em into assisted living communities or something.
Like what? What else in real estate do you like right now?
[00:23:22] Tom Brickman: If anything. Um, so I do, I do still like commercial and it’s case by case. I’m not buying malls, but I bought that. So it’s uh, three residential and then one commercial downstairs. And I was real nervous when I had the turn and it was the first turn since I had it.
I had a, um, a barber in there, which is something that you can’t work remote and, uh mm-hmm. They right, they up and moved out, but they actually did a referral to another barber. So I had like a month gap in there between. The two different tenants and I was like, man, I got so lucky with this one. Mm-hmm. Um, cuz it could have sat there for months and, and gone un rented.
But because I’ve positioned myself with residential above it, I still have the [00:24:00] income coming in from the building. So it’s not one of those that I’m like, quickly I have to get it. Um, I’m looking at, you know, maybe some, um, Syndications, maybe something in that where it’s more hands off and I know that that’s out of my control, but I don’t have a lot of exposure in that and maybe something like that.
So I don’t have to hear about Becky smoking outside. I, I, you know, it, it’s all third party and I’ll just have my money. Who that, who is this
[00:24:25] Eric Brotman: and who is this? Becky, this chain smoker. And why Beck? She, why is it always Becky chain
[00:24:31] Tom Brickman: smoker? I, I, I have three or four tenants that have been there a really long time, so I still get contacted on stuff that I pay a manager to handle anyway, but, um, it, it’s just a recent incident with someone and I, and that was literally my response back.
I’m like, who is Becky and why am I hearing about her? She’s the girlfriend of whoever lives upstairs, I’ll tell you that. Oh dear
[00:24:54] Eric Brotman: Lord. Okay. Well, you know, hopefully, hopefully the, the, her partner will, will [00:25:00] get an upgrade at some point. Yes. That’s really good. So what other kinds of, I’ll
[00:25:05] Tom Brickman: still off that duplex then.
I don’t have, or Yeah,
[00:25:06] Eric Brotman: well, yeah. But yes, well sell it before, before the show goes live because people are gonna know if there’s a duplex for sale and you’re selling it, there could be a smoker named Becky. That’s true. So I mean, this, if this show goes viral, you’re gonna have a hard time selling that duplex.
So I’m. I just hurt your property values. It’s
[00:25:22] Tom Brickman: just, it’s a show. It’s, I get poached constantly on that one, so I don’t think it’s in the right neighborhood and I bought, you know, so it’s one of those that people want.
[00:25:32] Eric Brotman: Well, that’s good. I don’t wanna cost money. I don’t wanna cost you money today under any circumstances.
That would not make me happy. Um, what other kinds of, what other kinds of financial instruments or investments do you deploy or, or use for your own wellbeing? Or is, are you all in and, and this is, this is where your wealth is and is likely to stay?
[00:25:54] Tom Brickman: No, I still even you. Stocks. Um, I have a stock [00:26:00] portfolio and then I do some alternative investments through my ira, meaning I’ll buy shares of, like, artwork or all, you know, there’s mm-hmm.
Several different things that I’ve, I’ve done through the IRA and through, um, Sucks. So I don’t just, I think last year, um, I hit like the $300 a month in dividends. So it’s one of those that I like to build it up, so I’m continuing to do that. So I have that as a, you know, the backup. Backup and it just reinvest right now, but it’s there.
So, um, even as it dips and goes down and it, I just keep, every week the money goes in and it reinvest. And that’s one of those that. Everything else falls apart. I’ve got that. I’ve, you know, and, and that was it. I got real nervous at Covid. I’m like, and I’ve structured it. So if I get rent from, um, at the time it was four.
If I get rent from four of the, and at the time I think it was 18 or 17 or 18, I’m like, if I get four, I’m covered. My bills are paid. I’ll figure out the rest. I’ll sell some [00:27:00] stuff on eBay. So I’m not, you know, over leveraged. And that’s what makes me nervous, even with a lot of the people who were jumping into the Airbnb market and, you know mm-hmm.
That’s been a big thing where I have one and it’s a great one. Um, it’s not no vacation destination, but it makes money. Um, it doesn’t make me a ton of money, but when I travel, I can stay at it. It’s one of. I’m good with that one. And if it doesn’t rent, I can still pay my bills. You know, it’s one of those, is that where you
[00:27:29] Eric Brotman: stay in Ohio?
[00:27:31] Tom Brickman: Uh, yes. In the pasts. Uh, six months I’ll Great. I’ll, I’ll stay at that one and I’ll, I work on, you know, right now it’s about to go up, we’re redoing a bathroom, so it’ll go up on Airbnb. It’s all been private, um, rentals for the past, um, six months. And it’s been like clients that have gone in and family that’s gone through, they’ll, they’ll rent it for a couple nights, but.
I get nervous with how that’s been so over leveraged by some people. And you know, they need to collect rent from all of ’em [00:28:00] if they’re gonna make those mortgage payments. And that just, you know, leaving my job, I didn’t wanna put myself in that spot and I just knew, you know, going in with very, not low debt, but manageable debt.
So I know if I collect from these couple, I’m good. That just makes me sleep better and knows that I don’t have to sell purses on eBay to, to pay the mortgage that month.
[00:28:22] Eric Brotman: Well, we, we are, we are running short on time and there’s so many more things I want to ask you, um, because it sounds like you’ve, you’ve taken some lumps, you’ve learned a heck of a lot, some of it the easy way, of course, some of it the hard way.
Um, and now you’re dispensing wisdom for those who, who want to hire you as a coach and other things. Um, how can folks get in touch with you if they have interest in getting to know what you’re, what you’re doing, and what you.
[00:28:47] Tom Brickman: So first and foremost, I’m, um, on Twitter, very active over there. Um, and it’s at the Frugal Gay 11 and I am available through my website, through email, um, and that website again [00:29:00] is the frugal gay.com, uh, website and, uh, emails listed right on there to find out more and just ask one-off questions.
I get a lot of that. So you are welcome to do that. And same with Instagram. TikTok I tend to not go over to, but you are welcome to message me there and we will try our path, see what happens. To get back to you. Yes.
[00:29:20] Eric Brotman: So, so let me ask you, let me ask you one of my favorite questions, which is, what do you want to be when you grow up?
[00:29:27] Tom Brickman: What do I want to be when I grow up? I want to be what I started doing at 21, which was buying real estate, but I want to show others how to do it so they’re not, you know, I, I’ve worked with enough clients now and sometimes when they come to me, I’m like, you make way too much money to be this broke. We can figure this out.
So I love being in that spot and, and by the end of, you know, that took a year of me working with that client, but by the end, they were homeowners. So I want to be able to not only do real estate, but be able to teach others how to buy real estate responsibly [00:30:00] and stop that cycle. Like working with them for a year was like life changing for me, which sounds crazy, but it was just, they realized by the end of that year that they don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck and they can build well through real estate.
And I love that. And being in that spot to be able to share that financial literacy is huge and I just, people struggle.
[00:30:21] Eric Brotman: Oh yeah, it’s not, you do and, and there’s a. That’s a great, that’s a great plan. I, there’s a, a great, um, a, a significant confusion between income and wealth. They are not the same. Income is what’s coming in.
Wealth is what you’ve built and what you can access. And there are a lot of folks who make a lot of money and can’t and have nothing to show for it. And there’s a lot of folks who don’t make a lot of money, at least on paper. But have built empires and you’re clearly building an empire. And, and I, I give you an enormous amount of credit, uh, and I, and I think it’s great that you’re teaching other people because these are things folks need to know.
Um, and so we’re [00:31:00] at that moment in our show where I need to get an extra credit assignment from you because I, I despise homework. Except when my daughter has homework, I do find that kind of funny because I don’t have to do that anymore, and she does. Um, so tell me, what would the extra credit assignment be?
What, what should folks do if they’re thinking about being involved in real estate or if they’re doing it and they’re not sure they’re doing it well, or, um, what’s the, the one extra credit assignment
[00:31:24] Tom Brickman: today? Can you start with a budget? Can you see where your money is going? And that’s really where I start.
A lot of people. Especially when they come to me, they’re like, I’m just not making enough. I’m not doing this. You don’t need to jump into a side hustle till you understand where your money’s going. And there’s a lot of times when people sit and do that budget and they’re like, I didn’t even realize I was spending $380 on subscriptions for 10 different services that I don’t use.
So I kind of start with that. And then if you want to jump into real estate, what I usually tell people. Let’s start a watch list and decide where we’re going and are we going after cash flow? Are we going after [00:32:00] appreciation? And what market are we in and where does it make sense? And then, you know, if you don’t own anything, I’m like, how can we get you into house?
How can we make this work? How can we do that? Because that’s really, you know, people will dog, uh, landlords and, and that, but really wealth building, having some sort of real estate in the portfolio. I never. I made like an average of $50,000 a year at the, the theater, but I was able to hit that, you know, net worth of, of a million at at 31.
And it, if I didn’t do real estate, I probably would still be handing out popcorn right now. And that’s what I try and stress, uh, when we get to this, uh, with people with BU wealth building, is you can really accelerate wealth with real.
[00:32:47] Eric Brotman: This has been, uh, insightful. It’s been fun. Tom, thank you. Thank you for being a guest.
It’s been great getting to know you. I hope folks will check you out@thefrugalgay.com, uh, and on all of your social media sites. Um, and I hope [00:33:00] we’ll, we’ll continue to, to collaborate down the road. You never know, and it’s been, uh, just a pleasure having you on the show. Thank you. Thank you for having. I’d like to thank all of you for listening and watching today.
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