We began investing in Real Estate in 2001 with the purchase of our firsttownhouse in Encino and the lot on which we eventually built our home in Big Bear.  In 2001,the real estate market was very similar to the current market.   Prices were down from previous years and interest rates were low (although not anywhere near as low as theyare today).  At the time, our interest rate was 7.75%, but the price was still low; and even after paying taxes and HOA fees, we were only paying a little more than what we had been paying for rent in West Los Angeles.  We were actually ahead of the game when you considered the tax deductions and we were finally building equity.  In fact, prices were going up so quickly that within 6 months, we had more than 20% equity, even though we had put down only 5%.  This allowed us to refinance and get rid of our PMI while getting the lower rate at the time of 6.75%.  We lived in the condo for three years and sold it in 2004 for a profit of almost $220K (not bad for an initial $8000 investment).  At that time, we bought a fixer-upper in Burbank and moved in.  While in Burbank, we started looking for investments out of state as prices in CA had sky-rocketedand it was no longer possible to rent out a property for enough to makethe mortgage payments, even with 20% down.  So we bought a couple of proerties inTX that paid for themselves (Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance) with only 10% down. We also bought a condo on the water in Florida, with the idea of renting it out for the time being and then using it ourselves in retirement; but "retirement" came a lot earlier than we expected.  That townhouse in Encino was the beginning of a string of real estate investments that eventually allowed us to quit our 9-5 jobs and move to our "vacation home" in Big Bear. We now live off of the income from our rental properties and are able to spend time helping others find properties that will not only provide years of enjoyment for their families, but hopefully also lead them to the kind of financial freedom that we have found through Real Estate..