One of my “elusive goals” was to become a real estate mogul.  I have always been involved in real estate and dreamed of buying houses or condos all over and renting them out for income. I have had the opportunity to try my hand and have had mixed results.  When I graduated from college, I bought my first condo in a beach town called Avalon.  It was about 30 miles south of Atlantic city and I spent many summers down their with my family.  I then purchased a 5 unit building with other partners in the same town.  This property turned out to be profitable and was rented for the entire summer.  We flipped this into a single family house and lived their with my parents during the summer months.  We sold it when the market was at it’s peak back in 2000.  I then moved onto a condo in playa del ray in California.  My brother was living there at the time and needed a place to live.  I bought it, he fixed it up, and we eventually sold it at a profit and split the proceeds  We then bought two townhouses in the Pocono’s.  We lived in one and rented the other.  We were lucky enough to sell them both, bought a piece of land, and built our own house.  After a few years, we decided to rent it out and for the past six years, did very well.  We recently decided to no longer rent it and begin to use it for ourselves and our family.  I next moved onto two condo’s in Florida, purchasing them in 2005.  Shortly thereafter, the real estate market took a hit and I lost money on both. After all is said and done,  we now are left with our primary house in NY and our pocono house.  I think I realized the commitment and stress involved in owning rental real estate.  When you have good tenants, it’s great and when you don’t, it’s hell.  While I’ll never be a Donald Trump, I value the experiences I have had and look forward to one final move, out west.