Courtesy of Kelly and Chris Edwards
Kelly and Chris Edwards.
The twins, who were in their late 20s at the time, had both been working in commercial banking and noticed a trend among the tax returns they analyzed: The people with the highest net worth owned real estate.
Looking at one portfolio in particular, Chris remembers seeing that the client owned a handful of single family properties. "There was a house for sale two doors down from the one he owned," Chris remembers. "We were like, 'We might not be the smartest guys in the world, but we can figure it out.'"
After getting the client's opinion on the sale, the brothers bought the house for $88,000 and started renovating it, doing much of the work themselves. In the next two years, they bought another four or five properties, getting to know contractors and developing a system along the way.
Today, The Edwards Companies owns nearly $8 million in assets, and works with private investors through its investing arm, Edwards Capital Partners.
"I remember one night, at probably 1 a.m., our buddy came by the house after leaving the bars," Chris says of their early days. "Kelly and I were painting. He was in banking, and we were the guys people were scratching their heads about and thinking we looked like the dumbest guys in the room. Now, we look like the smartest guys in the room. It's amazing what 10 years of good hard work will do."
Here, over a decade later, they've shared nine of their best tips for people who want to get into real estate investing.