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Welcome to CoachCarson.com! I’m Chad Carson (aka Coach).

This site is about using real estate investing to retire early, become financially independent, and do what matters in life.  I do my best to simplify the world of real estate investing so that you can apply it to your life, whether you’re brand new or a more experienced investor.

Just think of me like your personal old-school coach drawing plays on a blackboard!

About Me

Here’s a quick summary about me. You can find more details on my about page. I began investing in real estate at 23 years old right after college. With no attachments or family obligations at that time, I had the advantage of having little to lose. It was sort of like a baby learning to walk whose diaper is 6 inches from the floor. Failing didn’t hurt much while I learned!

But I also had the disadvantage of ZERO knowledge of real estate, finance, or business.  I studied Biology and German in college.  I could tell you the species of tree in the yard (in German), but I had never even owned a home before I bought my first investment!

The point? I had to learn everything about real estate investing and business from scratch.  And if you’re an enthusiastic learner like I was, you can too.

That’s why I created this site.

For a short cut…. select one of these best read articles:

Best Articles by Category

You can start here by exploring my most popular articles by category.

The Money-Life Manifesto

The first article I recommend to everyone is my Money-Life Manifesto. It lets you know the philosophy and motivation behind everything else I do here.

Getting Started With Real Estate Investing

• The Best Real Estate Investing Strategy
• The 35 Best Niches For Real Estate Investing (& How to Choose Yours)
• The House Hacking Guide – How to Hack Your Housing, Live For Free, & Start Investing in Real Estate
• Live-In House Flips – How to Own Your Home Free & Clear in Only 6 Years

Real Estate Retirement Plans

• Destination Financial Independence – The Peak & Plateaus of Retirement
• How Many Rental Properties Do You Need to Retire
• The Free & Clear Real Estate Plan
• The All-Cash Plan – How to Build a Portfolio of Free & Clear Rental Properties
• The Debt-Snowball Plan – How to Get Free & Clear Rental Properties
• The Buy-3-Sell-2-Keep-1 Plan – How to Get Free & Clear Rental Properties
• The Trade-Up Plan – How to Retire in 8 Years Using Tax-Free Exchanges

Real Estate Financing

• Is Debt Dumb in Real Estate Investing? Here’s My Take
• How To Use Smart Leverage in Real Estate Investing
• Creative Financing: 5 Outside-the-Box Tools Savvy Investors Use to Build Wealth

Deal Analysis (How to Run the Numbers)

• How to Calculate Rental Property Cash Flow (A Comprehensive Guide)
• The Two Rules of a Real Estate Deal Maker
• The 2% and 1% Rules – Instant Analysis For Real Estate Investments
• The 50% Rule – A Shortcut to Save You Time & to Avoid Negative Cash Flow

Real Estate Case Studies

• Live-In-Then-Rent Case Study – From $450 to $1200 Rent in 8 Years
• $100,000 Per Year Rental Income Case Study
• Financial Independence Using Real Estate Investing – A Case Study

Mindset & Wealth Strategies

• Simplicity: An Uncommon Path to Freedom
• How to Retire Rich With Embarrassing Old Cars and Ugly Houses
• Mini-Retirement: How to Retire Before You’re Ready

Personal Productivity & Growth

• Anti-Time Management – The 80:20 Principle and Parkinson’s Law
• The Annual Review: The #1 Habit of Exceptional People
• How to Reduce Worry, Stress, & Anxiety: The Circles of Concern & Influence

Connect With Me

Free Newsletter. In order to make sure you don’t miss my newest blog posts, why not subscribe to my newsletter? It’s fast, easy, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Best of all, I give you my Real Estate Investor Toolkit when you subscribe. (Click here to find out more.)

Social Media. Follow me on your social networks: Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook,  YouTube, or Linked-In. I share a lot of tips, stories, videos, and other resources I don’t include here.

My Article Archives

To see a full chronological list (newest to oldest) of all the posts I’ve ever written here on CoachCarson.com, visit the archive page.

You can also view an archive for each of my main article categories:

• Getting Started
• Landlording & Rentals
• Finding Good Deals
• Real Estate Financing
• Deal Analysis
• Investor Profiles
• Entrepreneurship & Business
• Early Retirement
• Personal Productivity & Growth
• Travel & Life
• Book Summaries
• Friday Fab Five

Monthly Contributor at BiggerPockets.com

I am a fan and monthly blog contributor at BiggerPockets.com (BP), the largest community of real estate investors online.

You can see all of my BP articles at my author page.

I have been a guest twice on the BP Podcast with Joshua Dorkin and Brandon Turner:

• Ep #84 – Getting Started With Creative Financing & Designing Your Ideal Lifestyle
• Ep #141 – 7 Ways to Find Incredible Real Estate Deals

Other Guest Posts and Podcast Interviews:

I occasionally guest post on other sites and get interviewed for podcasts.

Guest Posts:

• How to Get Started With Real Estate Investing – MoneyBoss.com – JD Roth
• The Incredible Tax Benefits of Real Estate Investing – MadFientist.com
• The Best Real Estate Strategies For Early Retirement – 1500days.com
• Climbing a Different Path to Financial Independence Using Real Estate – EattheFinancialElephant.com
• Early Retirement Using Real Estate (the Real Story) – 1500days.com
• 5 Easy Ways to Systematize Your Real Estate Business – IdealREI.com
• Using Real Estate Investing to Retire Early -Kigo.net

Podcast Interviews:

• House Hacking With Coach Carson – ChooseFI Podcast -Jonathan Mendonsa & Brad Barrett
• 5 Real Estate Side-Hustles You Can Start on the Cheap – SideHustleNation.com – Nick Loper
• The Simple Way to Retire Early With Real Estate – MadFientist.com – Brandon (aka The Mad Fientist)
• Easy Seller Financing – AffordableRealEstateInvestments.com – Lisa Phillips
• Financial Independence With Real Estate Starting With No Money – Radical Personal Finance – Joshua Sheats
• Real Estate Investing to Financial Independence – Martinis and Your Money Podcast – Shannon Mclay
• How to Stay Local and Dominate – Best Ever Real Estate Investing Advice – Joe Fairless
• Retiring in Your 30’s From Rental Properties – InvestFourMore – Mark Ferguson
• How to Put Systems in Place to Live the Life YOU Want – The Land Geek – Mark Podolsky
• How to Become Financially Independent By Age 37 – The Well Kept Wallet – Deacon Hayes

My Products and Services

While the content on my blog is all free, I do offer a number of commercial products and services. Be sure to check out my Online Courses.

A Word about Affiliates

I recommend books, tools, and other resources from time to time using links within my articles. In some cases these links are affiliate links.  This means that if you click through and purchase, my company will receive a commission on the sale.  These commissions help pay the bills around here (and avoid the need for spammy ads).  But keep in mind that I only recommend a product or service if I’ve used it and personally believe in it.  And I’ll recommend something that’s good whether it has an affiliate link or not. My first priority is helping you, my reader, to learn and improve.