Deal Diary: How a Math Teacher Bought 19 Doors

Name Christle Stezskal Location Northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois (investing in Kansas City, MO, and Rock County, WI) Occupation Full-time real estate investor (former high school math teacher and IT professional) Assets 19 rental units, including 18 long-term rentals and one Airbnb Investment strategy Sub-$100K single-family and small multifamily, buy-renovate-refinance, out-of-state, and local direct mail Financing Delayed financing, foreclosure auction cash purchase, conventional mortgage, local community bank line of credit and cash-out refinance Christle Stezskal spent seven years as a high school math teacher, but after her second daughter was born, her paycheck wasn’t covering daycare anymore. Her husband came home from a book club discussing Rich Dad Poor Dad, and they started listening to every real estate podcast they could find. Home prices near Chicago were too high for the money they had, so they looked at Kansas City instead, found an agent through BiggerPockets, and got on a plane just to walk the neighborhoods before buying anything. Their first property cost $52,000. Today, she’s left her job entirely, self-manages 19 units across two states, and is still buyi...