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Getting Started In Real Estate as a Minor with Ava Yuergens
Ava, an 18-year-old investor, shares her journey of purchasing her first real estate property at age 16. Inspired by Rich Dad Poor Dad, she convinced her parents to invest with her and pursued real estate instead of college, defying expectations with her ambition at a young age.
Avery: Hey guys, welcome back to the Short-Term Show. Today, we have the youngest guest ever on the show. The most recent youngest was usurped, and today we’ve got Ava! I’m really interested in hearing her story because she bought her first short-term rental at 16. Ava, is that right?
Ava: Yeah, we got it under contract.
Avery: When I was 16, I have a whole lot of questions about how that even happened. She’s 18 now, but I just think this is going to be really interesting, especially for a lot of you who maybe have children, and you’re thinking that instead of them working at Starbucks when they’re 16, they could be running short-term rentals.
Ava: It’s crossed my mind. I think my brother would rather die than have one of our kids run a short-term rental, but it’s something that’s crossed my mind. Maybe you’re a young investor who needs to hear this, or you’re the parent of a young investor who also needs to hear this. So, I’ll go ahead and introduce Ava. How’s it going?
Ava: Good, how are you?
Avery: Awesome! Thanks for coming on. So just start by telling us a little bit about yourself. At what age did you decide you wanted to invest in real estate?
Ava: I can get into the whole real estate origin story. The first time I came across real estate, I was sitting in a history class, and we learned about a man named Andrew Carnegie. I just learned about how he got into business and was successful so young. I realized that’s something I wanted to do. I wanted to make a big impact like him. That’s kind of how I figured it out—I wanted to get into business. I remember that day in class, I looked up books to make you successful—something really dumb—and I saw the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. Since I was 15 and couldn’t drive, I forced my sister to drive me to Target after school to get the book. Funny enough, that day when I came home, I saw my dad at the top of the stairs wearing a mask, and it turned out he had COVID, so basically everyone in my family had to quarantine, but it gave me the opportunity to read Rich Dad Poor Dad.
Avery: Wow.
Ava: Yeah, throughout that whole time, I couldn’t go to school, and ever since I read that book, I became obsessed with the idea of real estate. I was originally going to wait until I was 18 to invest, but I couldn’t wait. That’s how it all started.
Avery: So, you were 15 when you read Rich Dad Poor Dad and started laying the groundwork?
Ava: Exactly, I was so mature back then! I just wanted to play soccer and shop at Abercrombie and Fitch.
Avery: That’s so mature of you. So let’s talk about your first deal. Your first deal was a long-term rental, correct?
Ava: Yes, correct.
Avery: How did that come about? If I had gone to my parents at 15 asking for help in real estate, they would have been like, ‘What are you thinking?’ How did that go for you?
Ava: Yeah, the conversation came up, and I told my parents I didn’t want to go to college. I was going to go the real estate route instead. My mom’s a teacher, so she freaked out. To show her I didn’t need college to start real estate, I decided I was going to do it. My mom was like, “Okay, prove it.” What happened was my parents said, ‘If you get a deal, we’ll help you out,’ because they didn’t think I would. They kind of agreed that we’d go 50/50 on the upfront costs, like the down payment.