How Ogechi Igbokwe bought her first property at 21 and built a 6-figure portfolio

Ogechi Igbokwe is a financial educator and a real estate investor. She started her real estate journey in her quest to build another stream of income that will make her less dependable on her banking day job.

Her interest in real estate could also be attributed to seeing her friends get laid off summarily in the banking industry for reasons beyond their control. She said to herself at the time: “I don’t want that to be me.”

“After doing some research, I felt that the best strategy for me, with the lowest barrier to entry, would be to buy and hold real estate,” she noted on Acrons.

“I opted to not go the fix and flip route, because I wanted to learn as much as I could about the industry without the added stress of dealing with contractors and construction loans, which can get complicated fast,” said Igbokwe.

Establishing good credit early on, she said that it was her first credit card that helped pave the way for her to purchase her first property at 21 because, within two years, she had a 721 credit score.

She purchased her first property, which she still owns, in 2007 and her second property in a two-unit multi-family home in New York in the spring of 2008.

“I decided to invest out of state in Georgia first because my local market in New York was, and still is, very expensive. But there are more affordable markets out there, depending on what you are looking for,” she said.

Igbokwe bought her second property at the time of a recession when there was a temporary dip in real estate. Nonetheless, she found it to be the right side hustle path because it was something she could pursue while she kept her day job.

“It was a smart choice: My real estate side hustle has allowed me to pay off my $26,000 student loan debt and match my 9-to-5 income,” she said. “My most recent real estate purchase in 2020 brought the number of properties I own up to five.”

According to Igbokwe, her investment portfolio has generated six figures, bringing her one step closer to her ultimate goal of financial freedom. And Igbokwe said she is not stopping now because her goal is to build generational wealth.

Besides real estate, she is also an author. She authored the eBook “Don’t buy real estate until you read this: 7 steps for buying a profitable rental property.”

Also, through her online business, OneSavvyDollar, which she started in 2015, she has been able to help others achieve their money goals.