said. “I called hard money lenders. I didn’t know anyone with money and had only $10,000 in the bank. I took out a cash advance on my credit cards and kept themmaxed out so I could keep buying deals.” He flipped five homes his first year, all with his own money. His second year in REI was 2016, and he flipped 20 properties. In 2017, he was officially released from baseball and his real estate business was exploding, so he focused on flipping. He knew he had given his all at baseball, and now he was going to give his all to the game of real estate. “It was the first time in my life that I didn’t have baseball, so I devoted all my energy and competitiveness into real estate investing. I didn’t know what I was doing, but it was working!” In 2018, Pineda had his best year to date. He flipped more than 140 homes. He felt successful and happy with his choice to pursue a career as a real estate business owner.
ANEWPATH In 2014, Pineda and his wife celebrated their one-year anniversary with a trip to New Orleans. Despite his lack of affinity for a career as a Realtor®, the Pineda’s sold their first home and made good money. It was from that sale that Pineda realized the profit in real estate. This was also around the time he was searching and praying for a sign to his next step. “During our trip to New Orleans, I saw a commercial about real estate investing and at first thought it was B.S. But it influenced me enough to buy some books on the topic and to start learning. And then, I somehow knew my next step was to invest in real estate,” he said. On the plane back home, Pineda sat by an experienced flipper. They conversed on the long flight back to Las Vegas. “That was my sign that I was on the right path,” Pineda
24 | think realty magazine :: may 2020
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