Who is Nick Monge?

Who am I?

To give just a brief rundown, my name is Nicholas (or Nick) Monge. I’m a real estate agent, investor, father, and husband.

My interest in real estate started back in January 2013 when I was a young Airman in the Air Force. At the time, I was broke without really knowing it, married with a single income, a new father, and we had maybe $5,000 saved up.

At that point, I didn’t know what I was doing, and I had heard my senior leaders talking about the VA loan and the ability to purchase a home with 0% down. I did no research, and as a smart person would do, I found a random agent and started looking at houses. We bought the third one we saw.

We Jumped In

It was a leap of faith; we had no idea what we were doing, but I’m so glad we bought that house. It was a 3/2 single family that we paid $117,000 for in San Antonio. I hadn’t a single clue at that point what real estate investing was, but that is when my “career” with real estate started.

Eight months after the purchase, I had gotten orders to relocate to Pensacola, FL. An old retired Chief Master Sargent convinced me to rent it out, I agreed. Still, only because he was an older guy that I felt I could trust.. I also didn’t realize what equity was at the time, I had none anyways. We turned that home into a rental and were receiving $1300 a month for it, and my mortgage was $775. That’s when it hit me.

Since then, I have bought other properties with my VA loan, converting them all to rentals. In late 2018 I started to learn about investing, not just homeownership. I found Biggerpockets and went to town on the podcast, of course, read the “purple pill,” Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and I was hooked.

My life changed, and my desire to learn and become financially independent became a priority. I listen to a variety of podcasts daily as well as read a lot of books, real estate is so complex, and there are so many avenues to explore. I enjoy discovering new information and growing as an investor.

When the Real Investing Really Began

In early 2019, after a lot of monitoring of the market and running comps on my first purchase in San Antonio, I decided to sell the house and roll the money into something that would cash flow more.

I sold it for $168,000 and had about $60,000 to roll into something bigger via a 1031 exchange, so I bought a quadplex in Huntsville, AL.

I purchase the quad for $168,500 in February of 2019. When I first got into the Alabama market, it was still slow, Huntsville hadn’t experienced that jump in appreciation that was expected yet. Growth was expected to happen due to all the jobs and factories being built in the area; thousands of new jobs were offered.

On top of that, there is the Redstone Arsenal, a military base, and car manufacturing companies, amongst other things it was just a stable place to buy an investment.

Let’s fast-forward to today and again talk about that quadplex. On paper, it was a great purchase. However, the tenants were not quite the type I was hoping to have as renters.

You live, learn, and grow, right?

After getting fed up from only receiving partial rents and having way more repairs than desired, along with the lack of care from property management, I decided to list it for sale.

In just one year, it appreciated nearly $60,000 and appraised for $225,000. At the time of this writing, the property will be officially signed over to the new owner in two days and sold for the full asking price in the middle of a pandemic.

I’m taking those funds and again rolling them into a new investment property with a 1031 exchange. This time, I’m purchasing a brand-new construction in a great neighborhood in Huntsville with a much better property management system.  

Future Plans and Goals

Since the beginning of my REI journey, I’ve gotten my family learning and more involved with the investing. Today I own five single-family homes, the quad (for a couple more days), and a duplex. My goal is to have at least 50 doors within the next 3-5 years, and a minimum of $10,000 in passive income.

My “why” is my family, and the desire to live an exciting and “free” life. I want to be able to do what I want when I want. Whether it’s traveling, taking a 37-day trip to my hometown, or hanging out at a beach in Mexico, that’s why I’m focused on achieving my goals.

My buddy Craig Curelop and I have founded the FI Team, and we plan on growing quickly. Our mission is to help you achieve financial independence through real estate investing.

We are here to guide individuals whether you’re a newbie in real estate or a veteran, we offer professional, expertise in the Denver market. We can walk you step by step through house hacks, BRRRRs, and traditional buy and holds throughout the Denver market.

We want to assist YOU in reaching YOUR goals quicker. Buying real estate can be scary if you’re untrained and don’t understand it, but we are here to ease your mind, mitigate risk, and maximize your dollars. Please feel free to reach me at any time here: nick@thefiteam.com