Quote · BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast
3 Kids, Full-Time Job, $2M Portfolio: This Single Mom Did It in 6 Years!
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Rachel's Background: From Texas A&M to Accidental House Hacker
At 2:08 · chapter starts 1:15
Rachel Duck's origin story is a study in making the best of bad timing. She started buying raw land in college, then earned a Master of Real Estate Finance from Texas A&M — a credential designed to launch a development career. But she graduated in 2009, directly into the worst real estate downturn in a generation. Her program director gently suggested she consider other options. Rachel pivoted to property tax consulting work in Austin's active appeals market and simultaneously bought a fixer-upper duplex — a sprawling renovation project she tackled herself at 23. Years later, when she started listening to BiggerPockets, she realized she had already executed a live-in flip and house hack without knowing what either term meant. The strategy that would define her investing career had begun purely by instinct.
Rachel graduated with a Master of Real Estate Finance from Texas A&M in 2009 — right into the worst real estate crash in decades. With no development jobs available, she pivoted to property tax consulting and bought a massive fixer-upper duplex, accidentally executing her first live-in flip without knowing the term existed.
Rachel bought her first duplex fixer-upper in 2009 right after graduating with a Master of Real Estate Finance from Texas A&M, inadvertently executing her first live-in flip.
Rachel moved herself and her three children nine times in six years as part of her live-in flip strategy to build her rental portfolio.
Starting over after a 2020 divorce with three young kids and little capital, Rachel Duck chose the live-in flip: buy with 5% down on a conventional owner-occupied loan, renovate while living there, then rent it and repeat. Nine moves and six years later, she owns 10 properties worth $4 million with $2 million in equity.
