Episode
From $500 to 60 Units: How To Build a $12M Rental Portfolio with Andres Bernal
- Published
- Jun 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1810
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Summary
Most investors with 60 units didn't start with capital, connections, or a roadmap. Andres Bernal started with $500 and an FHA loan on a three-unit in Connecticut. He built that rental portfolio from there, one deal and one strategy at a time, until the income replaced his day job entirely. About Andres Bernal Andres Bernal came to the United States in 2012 as a professional tennis player from the Dominican Republic. He began investing in real estate in 2016 while still coaching full-time. Today he owns more than 60 rental units across Section 8, student, and long-term rentals, with a portfolio valued over $12 million. He is also the author of Born to Retire Young and currently runs three to five fix-and-flip projects per month in Connecticut. What We Cover in This Episode Why house hacking with an FHA loan is still the most reliable first move for new real estate investors How Andres scaled from 18 units to 60 in just two years by partnering strategically The case for student rentals: higher rents, parent co-signers, and lower effective expenses than traditional long-term rentals Why Connecticut is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country right now and why nobody is talking about it The tenant education process Andres runs at every move-in and why it is the single biggest factor in smooth property management How he manages three to five flips per month with 12 in-house contractors and a four-person rental management team When to sell a rental property with strong equity but weak cash flow and what to do with the proceeds Key Insight Andres bought his first house hack in 2016 for $210,000. It appraised last year at nearly $500,000. After refinancing, it cash flows $1,600 per month. He still owns it. That one deal funded everything that came after. Why This…