From $12/Hour to 3 Rental Properties and Traveling the World
October 12, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readFrom $12/Hour to Three Rental Properties and World Travel
Arden Williams and his wife were both making $12 to $13 an hour when they bought their first house in Wilmington, North Carolina in November 2021. He was finishing fire academy; she was a teaching assistant. They had no big bank account, no high-paying job, and no family money. What they had was a willingness to get uncomfortable — and a YouTube video of Brandon Turner from BiggerPockets explaining how buying one house every year could compound into financial freedom. That video stayed in the back of Arden's mind through a stint in Hawaii and a move to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and when he and his wife landed back in North Carolina, they decided to try it.
The House Hack, Repeated
Their first property was a three-bed, two-bath single-family home purchased for $285,000 — $20,000 over asking, which felt insane at the time, but they locked in a 3% interest rate. They put $30,000 down and rented out the two extra bedrooms to fellow firefighters for $700 each per month. That brought their mortgage of roughly $1,300 down to near zero. "I think we ended up basically just paying the utilities and insurance," Arden says. They lived for free.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: Arden Williams**
- 2 (01:25) **First House Hack: Buying at $285k**
- 3 (09:46) **Second House Hack: Repeating the Strategy**
- 4 (13:48) **The Live-In Flip: A Third Property**
- 5 (18:33) **Building an ADU: Process and Financing**
- 6 (30:27) **Frugality and Financial Freedom**
- 7 (34:55) **Future Plans**
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Anyone can invest in real estate. You don’t need a fancy degree, a big bank account, or a high-paying job to get started. Arden Williams and his then-girlfriend were both making just $12 an hour when they bought their first house.
How did they do it? They got uncomfortable, slashed their expenses, and threw every extra dollar toward a down payment. Then, they brought that same approach to real estate investing—jumping from one house hack to the next and sharing space with multiple tenants.
These “small” sacrifices paid off in a big way. Today, Arden owns three rental properties, and he just broke ground on his first accessory dwelling unit (ADU). But that’s not even the best part. With this simple strategy, Arden and his wife quit their jobs and used their rental income to fund a year-long trip around the world.
Whatever financial freedom means to you—retiring early, spending more time with family, or traveling the world—real estate makes it possible. And in this episode, Arden will give you a repeatable blueprint for building the life you’ve always wanted.
In This Episode We Cover
The strategy that allowed Arden and his wife to quit their jobs and travel the world
Two pain points that the house hacking strategy immediately resolves
The step-by-step process for adding an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to your property
Money-saving habits that helped Arden fund multiple down payments
Small sacrifices that (most) real estate investors don’t want to ma
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