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Building a Multi Million Dollar Real Estate Portfolio From Scratch – Business Insider

  • Real estate investors Natia and Jervais Seegars started from scratch. They had bad credit and low incomes.
  • Still, they managed to build a multi-million dollar portfolio that allowed them to retire early.
  • Their advice to rookie investors is to start by getting your personal finances in order.

When Natia and Jervais Seegars decided they wanted to buy their first home, they went into the process practically blind. 

“We had no idea where to start or what the requirements were,” Natia told Insider. “We didn’t even know the idea of calculating how much house we could afford.”

As for their financial standing at the time, “we were both working in the restaurant industry, not making great money, and our credit was terrible,” she added. “It was not a great way to start.” 

That was in 2003. It took three years of paying down credit card debt, improving their credit scores, and increasing their income before the couple got pre-approved for a mortgage. In 2006, they bought their first home, a $191,000 four-bed, 2.5-bath in High Point, North Carolina, and have been expanding their portfolio ever since.

Today, Natia and Jervais own five properties that bring in $30,000 in monthly revenue, according to documents viewed by Insider.

Their real estate business allowed them to recently quit their 9-to-5 jobs — Jervais was an engineer, while Natia worked in marketing — and launch a coaching business, YourLifeStyleStrategy, in 2022 to help other people build wealth through real estate.

The main point they want to make is: If they could buy property, despite starting with practically nothing in savings and small incomes, anyone can. Here is their four-step guide to investing in real estate.

1. Get your personal finances in order 

The first and most important step to take before investing in real estate is to establish a solid financial foundation, the couple emphasized. That means building credit, paying down high-interest debt, and having an emergency fund.

“If your finances aren’t in order, it’s going to be a very bumpy road,” said Jervais. “And you’re going to end up paying more than you want to pay.” 

That’s because banks and other mortgage lenders typically charge higher interest rates to people with low credit, since they’re considered riskier to lend money to. You might not even qualify for a loan if your credit score is really low. That’s what happened to Natia and Jervais at first, who both opened credit cards in college, racked up about $8,300 worth of credit card debt, and had low credit scores. Jervais’ was 524 at its lowest.

“If you’re not managing your personal finances well, you won’t be able to manage real estate investment property finances well,” he said. 

2. Learn the ins and outs of real estate investing

Between YouTube videos, podcasts, and online articles, there are endless free resources at your fingertips. Use them to learn as much about how to invest in real estate as possible, they recommended. 

When Natia and Jervais were buying their first home in the early 2000s, there weren’t as many accessible guides. They occasionally caught TV and radio snippets, including one particularly helpful tip from money expert Suze Orman: make a couple of extra mortgage payments a year to save on interest and pay your loan down faster. 

“I remember hearing her say that one extra payment a year could shave off several years from your total amortization schedule,” said Natia. “We always did two payments a month.” 

They also sought out advice from people who were already homeowners or real estate investors, added Jervais: “Get advice from people who already have been where you want to be.” 

You’re not going to learn everything you need to learn about real estate in a five second TikTok video. Real estate investor Natia Seegars


The more time you invest in educating yourself about real estate, the more likely you are to succeed, they emphasized.

You may come across grants and/or down payment assistance programs, which is what they used to fund their first home. The Genesis Program, which offers down payment assistance to low- and middle-income home buyers using an FHA loan, granted them $5,400 to put towards their down payment.

“You’re not going to learn everything you need to learn about real estate in a five second TikTok video,” said Natia. “I know that people want to hurry up and learn fast, but it’s better to really have the confidence and know where you’re headed. It’s time up front, but it will result in a bigger thing down the road.”

3. Research the market you want to buy in 

Every type of investment is risky, from stocks to real estate, and there is no guarantee that you’re going to see returns. No one can predict or control market conditions. That’s why it’s extra important to control what you can control, they said, which includes researching your market.

Natia and Jervais spent hours driving through neighborhoods in North Carolina even before they were pre-approved for a mortgage. “We explored everywhere,” said Natia, and that’s ultimately how they found the subdivision they ended up buying their first home in. 

Interview a handful of realtors before settling on one that you trust, and then lean into them. If you’re buying an investment property, ask them what rent prices look like and how they’ve evolved. You can also do your own research using sites like Rentometer. Look at listings in your market every single day to get an idea of what’s happening with prices in the neighborhood you’re considering. 

natia jervais

Natia and Jervais Seegars are financially independent thanks to their real estate portfolio, which consists of properties in North Carolina, California, and Georgia.
Courtesy of Jim Resonable Photography

“Every market is super different,” said Natia. “A great resource to look at is the National Association of Realtors. It will show you the median home price, where houses are selling, and where home prices are cooling. That information can guide your decision.”

Especially when you’re looking to buy an investment property (rather than a primary home), “lead with your data,” she said. “Where is the data telling you to spend your money? Sometimes we get very caught up in going somewhere where we’re super familiar and comfortable, but maybe you will be able to maximize your returns in a different market.”

It’s also important to think about your exit strategy.

“You always need to have a contingency plan, especially today with uncertain markets and inflation,” said Jervais. 

What that means is thinking about things like, “if you need to sell, will there be somebody who can buy it from you for more than what you paid?” added Natia. To figure out the answer to that, ask yourself things like: “Is this house in a very desirable area? Is there a lot of development happening in this area? Is the school district really good?”

4. Start small and do a ‘trial run’ before going all-in 

Buying property is a massive investment and often requires a lot of upfront cash to cover things like a down payment and closing costs.

With that in mind, “don’t be afraid to test the waters before diving in head first,” said Natia. “There are a lot of ways for you to test an idea so that it wouldn’t end up being a tragic loss if it didn’t work out.”

She and Jervais tested out the long-term rental strategy when they moved from North Carolina to California in 2012. Instead of selling their primary home, they found a long-term tenant that nearly covered all of their housing costs. Eventually, they started earning a profit from the property, which showed them that they could actually make money by renting out properties.

Another option is to try renting out a room or section of your primary home while still living in it. This strategy is known as “house hacking” and will not only help you offset your mortgage but can give you an idea of what it’s like to be a landlord and have a tenant.

In the late 2010s, when Natia and Jervais were researching other real estate investing strategies, they found that short-term rentals could be lucrative. Rather than spending tens of thousands of dollars to buy a property and test out the short-term rental strategy, they tested the idea by doing “rental arbitrage” with Jervais’ parents’ home. The way rental arbitrage works is, you sign a long-term lease and then rent out that property on short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. Ideally, you’ll make more than the monthly rent costs and turn a profit.

In Natia and Jervais’ case, it was a win-win scenario: Jervais’ parents were looking for a long-term tenant, and the couple were looking to test out the profitability of short-term rentals. 

It happened to be just as lucrative as they imagined, and they eventually purchased three properties that they started listing on the short-term rental market. 

“There are a lot of ways for you to get started without it being an extremely risky decision,” said Natia.

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