How my journey led me to EXACTLY where I’m supposed to be

Before I owned a multifamily I lived and worked in New York City. During that phase of my life, I hopped from borough to borough, sharing bathrooms, dry wall, tampons and so much more. I had 4 jobs in 5 years and each time I never felt like I was truly in the right place, doing the right thing. I don’t regret any of the opportunities I took though because I embraced the breadcrumbs they provided along the way.

My favorite boroughs of all boroughs though, was and will always be, Queens. A special little place there called, Astoria. Through Facebook Marketplace I met my last and final roommate (aka soul sister), Amanda. The universe brought us together virtually but over an initial apt tour accompanied by left over Christmas wine, humus and carrots, an incredible friendship was born, one that I cherish to this day.

In every way we were different, we were similar and they were the best 2 years of my life. It was a real ying and yang type of masculine and feminine energy that just worked. During those precious years we learned, laughed, cried, got frustrated, excited, inspired and lived. For someone like me who was so focused on the future and my destination, this wonderful Joie de Vive of a person taught me how to be present, how to exist in the moment and to do things to the fullest in the most elegant of ways.

My favorite past times that I often reminisce on are, playing dress up in our closets, making meals in our cute kitchen, redecorating and painting our apartment (multiple times), raising plant children and decorating for Christmas,  a love we both shared deeply.

Sadly, our time came to an end when COVID hit in early 2020. I made the decision to leave the city and move home to CT for, what I thought would be, a few months. Little did I know that decision would change the entire course of my life and would keep me in CT for the unforeseeable future. But that's what life is after all, a series of decisions, followed by actions that come from inspiration.

During this chapter in CT I spent quality time with my parents, experienced life with my sister and her fiancé, raised a puppy and most importantly, lived alone.

Through a friend of a friend found a unique apt situation, signed the lease and called it the Dojo. It was a tiny 700 sq ft studio with cathedral ceilings, just like NY, right? For the first time EVER, I could walk around naked with a towel on my head, leave dishes in the sink, watch TV at any hour of the night and more. I got into yoga, beach volleyball, a work out routine and worked remotely. Honestly, things were going fkn GREAT.

In the process of being alone, I started thinking about what I wanted my future to look like. The only way I was ACTUALLY staying in CT was if I found an investment property, I wasn’t moving back for a single family home. Airbnb and VRBO were really booming in our corner of New England and everyone was getting a piece of the pie, so I wanted some too! I asked the landlord for permission to do just that. What’s the worst they could say, no? Well, they said yes, so I proceeded!

This allowed me the ability to determine if this was something I even liked. Was this really what I wanted to dump my heart and soul into doing? Will it be worth it to leave NY for this? A dear friend of mine once said,, "Marie, you just need to start doing something" (outside of my 9-5). I figured it would not only be a way for me to share my home with travelers but a way to make residual income, which is something EVERYONE should be thinking about doing. Work smarter not harder, right?

To get started, I spent $400 and bought new bedding, towels, rugs, pillows, art work, you name it and started to learn the ins and outs of how to run a short term rental business. I designed, photographed, listed and managed the calendar with all booking inquires for approximately 4 months before moving out. People would leave cute notes, Christmas ornaments they picked up in town or kind reviews however occasionally 1 or 2 asshole types, the kind who genuinely get pleasure from the power they hold being able to leave a review on the internet, would leave a shit comment. With everything though, there were triggers and major lessons learned along the way through those moments.

When I saw the profits made in such a short amount of time, I decided to be all in and truly devote my time and thinking to this new area and career path. Through this process, I got really clear with my vision and intentions I was setting and decided I wanted to own an investment property with multiple apartment units which I could manage as my full time job. Welp guess what, I manifested just that (Next Blog post!).

By taking baby steps though and just STARTING, it led me to my next phase of life. Real estate was something I always knew I would get into but never had any desire to become an agent. My parents were landlords and owned multiple houses at one point when we were growing up. They were always extreme fixer uppers too. As kids we didn’t notice it but looking back, they took some pretty shitty properties and really transformed them.

Like anything, the transformation is the BEST PART and that’s what I loved most about the real estate game. Taking a blank canvas (empty apt) and filing it with wonderful pieces of furniture, pops of color etc. felt so natural to me and in such a way that I couldn’t image myself doing anything else.

It’s funny because at first when I moved home, I had no intention of staying in CT. NOPE. I wasn’t ready to give up the city lifestyle or nightlife and come home for good, I just assumed I would go back but once I stumbled on my property, it was a chance to reinvent myself and an incredible opportunity to transform an entire property.

Tune in next time to hear about how I manifested my multifamily and completely transformed it into the charming, seaside short term rental it is today!