I Replaced My $80K Salary with 2 Real Estate Deals Per Year

Summary

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Podcast Summary: BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Episode: I Replaced My $80K Salary with 2 Real Estate Deals Per Year

Date: April 6, 2026
Host: Henry (BiggerPockets)
Guest: Martin Castro Silva

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Brief Overview

This episode features the story of Martin Castro Silva, who transitioned from a banking career to full-time real estate investor. Martin shares in detail how he replaced (and ultimately surpassed) his $80K salary by completing just two real estate deals per year, eventually building a consistent flipping business, growing family wealth, and gaining control over his schedule for more family time. He outlines actionable steps, candid lessons, and inspires others considering the leap into real estate—providing specific numbers, market insights, and strategies anyone can adopt.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Martin's Shift from Banking to Real Estate (00:00–03:18)

• Background: Martin was a private client banker at Chase in affluent South Florida, servicing wealthy clients.
• Notable Pattern: "I've noticed that... clients that were in real estate were the ones that were doing well off." (01:18, Martin)
• Mentorship: Built a rapport with a young real estate investor client, learning as much as possible from him. This client introduced Martin to the BiggerPockets podcast and connected him with a wholesaler.
• Catalyst: “It wasn't until Martin picked up a pattern that everything changed. And that pattern was all his wealthy clients at the bank were in real estate.” (00:25, Henry)

2. The First Deal—Proof of Concept (03:18–06:35)

• Details of the First Deal:
  • Townhome in Lake Worth, FL (45 mins from home).
  • Purchase price: $200K (50% cash, 50% hard money loan).
  • Rehab budget: ~$25–30K (took 7 months, managed around banker job with help from his mom’s refi).
  • Sold for $310K (listed for $320K). Net profit: $37K, even after $7K in holding costs.
• Key Lessons:
  • Importance of speed and choosing the right contractor.
  • “Had I taken action faster, I would have made more money. But it’s okay. I was so surprised.” (05:51, Martin)
• Impact: Realized that just 2–3 similar deals could replace his annual salary.

3. Scaling Up—Second and Third Deals (06:35–20:12)

Second Deal (Single Family Home)

• Location: Two hours north of his initial market (supported by the wholesaler connection).
• Purchase: $170K using a line of credit.
• Rehab: Budgeted $40K, spent $50K. Needed full renovations except the roof.
• Market Lesson: Overpriced at $325K, rejected a $300K cash offer, eventually sold for $300K after four months (not cash).
  • “I sat on the house for four months. Asked me how much I sold it for? $300,000.” (09:49, Martin)
• Net Profit: $35K.
• Lesson: Trust the local agent’s ARV, don’t overprice.

Third Deal (Neighbor's House)

• Deal Flow: Approached the neighbor of the earlier project directly; secured a purchase for $150K cash (with siblings) and invested $50–60K in rehab.
• Net Profit: ~$65K (split evenly among siblings).
• Notable Quote: “I just didn’t want to miss any of the moments with my kids... I took a leap of faith." (16:34, Martin)
• Relationship Building: By engaging with neighbors, Martin unlocked better deals and built a reputation for reliability.

4. Leveraging Connections and Family Support (14:40–20:07)

• Financing Creativity: Helped by private lenders (even past banking clients) and family partnerships when personal funds ran tight.
• Negotiation Tip: Offered the lender first dibs on listing the renovated property as incentive.
• Mindset: “If you run into a wall, you just go talk to somebody and figure out how they were doing it, and then you would try to replicate it.” (21:31, Henry)

5. Building a Repeatable Formula and Expanding (25:57–29:34)

• 2025 Performance: Purchased 11 properties, flipped 7, kept 2 as rentals.
• Investment Focus (Buy Box):
  • Single family homes, ~1200 sq ft, 3/2 (will consider 2/2 if possible to add a room).
  • Price range: $150K–$220K purchase, sell under $350K.
• Market Selection: Moved from Fort Lauderdale to Vero Beach/Sebastian for better prices and ease of operations.
  • “That’s why... It’s time to move.” (27:45, Martin)
• Network Effect: By letting everyone know he was an investor, direct opportunities (neighbors, acquaintances) arose.
• Family Impact: Used his experience to help relatives buy homes, creating a "community" feel.

6. Lifestyle Impact & Schedule Control (29:34–31:37)

• More Family Time: No more weekends working—dedicated to family activities.
  • “Saturday and Sunday are for just the family. We try to spend as much time together as possible because time flies.” (30:15, Martin)
• Autonomy: Martin and Henry both emphasized the benefit of controlling their own schedules, even as flipping is not truly passive.

7. Advice & Words of Wisdom for New Investors (31:37–32:05; in Spanish)

• Message to Listeners (Spanish): Martin encouraged listeners—especially Spanish-speakers—to not be afraid to try:
  • “No debe haber miedo.” (31:44, Martin)
• Theme: Don't let fear or perceived obstacles (credit, funding) prevent action. Leverage community, believe in yourself, and build support.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If I make these two times, three times in a year, I’m going to already surpass my annual salary. So I need to do this more.” (05:51, Martin)
• “You get what you pay for.” (05:26, Henry, on low-fee agents)
• “If you run into a wall, you just go talk to somebody and figure out how they were doing it, and then you would try to replicate it.” (21:31, Henry)
• “The best part is I make my own hours. Like, if I want to take a day off, no one’s going to die.” (30:39, Henry)
• “No debe haber miedo.” (31:44, Martin, in Spanish: "There should be no fear.")

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00–01:12: Introduction of Martin’s background and catalyst moment.
• 03:37–06:35: First deal breakdown, lessons learned.
• 07:02–10:07: Second flip, financing, lessons on local markets.
• 14:40–16:34: Third deal, financing with family, scaling up.
• 25:57–27:49: 2025 review, buy box strategy, moving markets.
• 30:15–30:39: Achieving work-life balance.
• 31:37–32:05: Martin shares advice to new investors in Spanish.

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Conclusion: Core Lessons & Takeaways

• Replicable Formula: Martin illustrates that consistent, repeatable deals can replace and surpass salaried income.
• Mindset > Tactics: A strong motivation, willingness to ask questions, and persistence are as critical as technical skill.
• Community and Family: Real estate enabled personal freedom and lifting up his family/community.
• Action Over Analysis: “Don’t be afraid” and use your resources—whether that’s money, knowledge, or personal network.
• Financial Freedom: Achievable, even in uncertain markets, for regular people taking calculated risks.

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This episode is a blueprint and an inspiration for anyone seeking to use real estate as their path to “owning their time,” creating generational wealth, and building the life they want.

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Transcript

[Henry]

Five years ago, Martin Castro Silva was working at a bank making 80 grand a year. Not a bad gig. But one thing was eating at him. He was missing the moments with his two kids, who were 3 and 1 years old at the time. It wasn't until Martin picked up a pattern that everything changed. And that pattern was all his wealthy clients at the bank were in real estate. And one of them was even willing to show him the ropes. Martin knocked his first deal out of the park and replaced half of his salary while working on the side. This had to be it. This was his ticket to freedom. By the second deal, he quit his job. And by the third, he was building an income replacing machine. Just last year alone, Martin did 11 real estate deals. Nothing super creative, no sketchy financing, all using a repeatable formula that anyone can replicate. Now he owns a schedule. He can dedicate time to his kids. And he put his wife and children into their dream home. And it only happened because he took the chance on his first deal. Today, Martin will show you how to do it too. All right, Martin, well, tell us about your background and what got you into real estate.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Well, I was hired, my second child. I wanted to be the owner of my time. And I was looking to do something that would give me the freedom to just be with my kids. Yeah, my background is in banking. I worked for chase bank for 12 years. I was working at a Fort Lauderdale office in South Florida, very affluent area. And I've noticed that there was a pattern of clients that the ones that were in real estate were the ones that were doing well off.

[Henry]

What kind of clients were you servicing?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yes, I was a private client banker. So I was sitting with the big sharks.

[Henry]

Okay. So for those who don't know, when you go to the bank, they have bankers for regular people and then they have private banking. Some of these banks have a special branch or a special person you can go to and do private banking when you got the real dollars. So you're saying you were helping the big shots, correct?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yes.

[Henry]

And you started to notice that a lot of the big shots were dealing in real estate.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Exactly. Yeah. They either owned real estate, they were, you know, agents, wholesalers, they were somehow connected to real estate. So I met this guy, young guy, he was coming every week to do a wire transfer to close on house. And every time he would come, he would tell me a story. I'm buying this house for this much. I'm going to paint it, I'm going to do very little stuff, spruce it up and resell it. Make 20,000. Remember, it was the pandemic time, like 20, 21. I was like, what? How is this guy making $20,000 in a month? In two months. I couldn't believe it. So everything. He would come, I would try to always help him and learn more about him.

[Henry]

Okay, so you were, you were using him kind of like a little mentor when he would come in there.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yes.

[Henry]

And get some information.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yes, yes. When we got a little closer, you know, and he, he introduced me to bigger packets. He's like, hey, listen to this podcast. You know, it's going to be good. Good education, good information for you. Since you, since you say you want to start in real estate or when I do something about it. Yeah. Interest rates were super low. I took advantage and refinance my home.

[Henry]

Okay.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Got some capital. And then I would just bug him, hey, when are you going to have a deal? When are you going to have a deal? When are you going to have a deal? And then he introduced me to a wholesaling company down south and they were able to get me my first deal and help me with some financing too.

[Henry]

Okay, well, tell us about that deal. What'd you buy? What'd you pay for it? What'd you do with it?

[Martin Castro Silva]

It was a townhome in a city called Lake Worth.

[Henry]

How far was that from where you were?

[Martin Castro Silva]

45 minutes.

[Henry]

Okay, that's not bad.

[Martin Castro Silva]

So I bought it. I didn't have any money then, and my mom had just refinanced because she had like a 5% interest rate. And then the interest rate went down. She had like a 2.5, 2.75. She got pulled some money and I told my mom, hey, mom, I think, you know, we should get into real estate. This is what I've been hearing from other people. I was trying to lure my mom into getting into real estate and trust. Trust husband. So she's like, oh, but I don't know, what if he doesn't sell? No, everything is selling right now. You know, people are paying, people want, you know, bigger houses. So we got that townhouse and this is what happened. So we bought it in February of 2022. I was still working in the bank. We bought it for 200. It only needed like about 25 to 30,000.

[Henry]

Did you pay cash or did you get a loan?

[Martin Castro Silva]

We pay 50% of it cash and 50%. We got a loan. They gave us like a hard money loan, interest only. And I started rehabbing it myself. I was hiring contractors here and like more not contractors, like handymans to do just bathroom to do. We did the two bathrooms and we also did the kitchen. But the thing is, I was working, so I didn't have the time. And I didn't know that in this business you need to be fast. So it took me seven months to rehab it just to do two bathrooms and a kitchen. That's insane. Yeah. Yeah. So we were paying a thousand bucks on interest expense each month.

[Henry]

Yeah.

[Martin Castro Silva]

When it was finally ready around August, we listed it. I found an agent that charged me very little commission because I was trying to save money, trying to make the most I could, but didn't like the service that I got.

[Henry]

Of course, you get what you pay for.

[Martin Castro Silva]

You get what you pay for, right?

[Henry]

Yeah.

[Martin Castro Silva]

We listed it for 320. We ended up selling it for 310. They actually asked me for a concession or something like that, and I said yes when I shouldn't have. I could afford it a little. A little bit more, but I didn't know better. But even with all those hurdles, I was able at the end, like, net net. I was able to net $37,000.

[Henry]

Hey, that's a win.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Exactly. Yeah. And even after, like taking so long paying 7,000 in holding costs, I was like, what. Had I taken action faster, I would have made more money. But it's okay. I was so surprised. And then that was the moment when I clicked and everything changed because I was like, if I make these two times, three times in a year, I'm going to already surpass my annual salary. So I need to do this more.

[Henry]

What were you making at the time at the bank?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Anywhere between 70 to 85,000. Because I was. I was a private client banker, so my salary was based on commission. I had a small base. And then everything commission each month. You know, it's okay. You get what you. What you sell.

[Henry]

So you made about, I don't know, close to half your salary, correct? On that first deal?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yeah.

[Henry]

That's the proof of concept. So it took you seven months to do that. So how long until you did your next deal?

[Martin Castro Silva]

I bought it like a few months later, but I started working on it full time. Four months later, full time.

[Henry]

So you left your job in the middle of your second renovation?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Absolutely. And my goal was to replicate my salary the very first year.

[Henry]

Yeah.

[Martin Castro Silva]

So I bought the first deal in February. I sold it in September. I bought my second deal November. I remember because it was Thanksgiving time.

[Henry]

How did you find the second deal

[Martin Castro Silva]

to buy the second deal? So interest rates were low. I also took advantage of refinancing my own house. So I went ahead and this guy that I was telling you about, the

[Henry]

wholesaler from the bank.

[Martin Castro Silva]

The wholesaler? Yeah. He found me a deal and he introduced me to the second deal. But he told me the second deal was two hours north. But I was like, you know what, Let me just do it. Because the price point was more aligned to what my resources.

[Henry]

It was less expensive than where you were. Okay, so what, what you pay for that second one?

[Martin Castro Silva]

For that one, I pay 170.

[Henry]

Okay. And you said you took out a line of credit, Correct? Is that what you used to buy the second one?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yes.

[Henry]

How did you convince your wife to let you spend your entire line of credit on buying a flip?

[Martin Castro Silva]

I showed him the profits of. Of the other one. It's like I have a spreadsheet. Look, this is what we made. You know, if you're okay with it, let's go for the next one. I don't know the market, but we'll find out. These are the numbers.

[Henry]

And she said yes.

[Martin Castro Silva]

She gave me the support. Yeah.

[Henry]

That had to feel awesome.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yeah.

[Henry]

All right, so you bought the second one for 170. Okay. How much work did it need?

[Martin Castro Silva]

It was the very first time that I bought a single family home. Hours like, my knees was shake. We're shaking. Oh, my gosh. I was like, okay, this is a different monster because I had to do everything, you know, I need to do floors, paint. The roof was already done, but I had to renovate. Closet, doors, floors, paint the house. Two bathrooms, a kitchen. I had budgeted $40,000. I ended up spending $50,000.

[Henry]

That's not too bad. Yeah, that's not too bad. People go a whole lot more over budget than that, typically on a first or second deal. So you got it done for 50 and what did you sell it for?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Oh, here's a good lesson. I was coming from the south, right? Completely different market. People paying over, asking a lot, 30, 40, 50,000 over asking for single family homes. And I was like, you know what, I'm going to price it high. I'm going to set the market.

[Henry]

You got too big for your britches. You did your first deal and you thought, okay, okay. But did your agent agree with that or was your agent trying to list it?

[Martin Castro Silva]

No, they told me, hey, listen, the arb in this market is going to be 300, 309, the most. I was like, no, I'm going to list it at 325. 335. Yeah, I'm going to get my.

[Henry]

With all of Your years of expertise. You decided.

[Martin Castro Silva]

We went live. A week goes by. I got a cash offer.

[Henry]

300,000, which is what you originally planned on.

[Martin Castro Silva]

I turn it down.

[Henry]

No, Martin. Yeah, Martin. I turned it down.

[Martin Castro Silva]

I sat on the house for four months and asked me, asked me how much I sold it for.

[Henry]

What did you sell it for?

[Martin Castro Silva]

300,000.

[Henry]

And I bet it wasn't cash.

[Martin Castro Silva]

It was not cash.

[Henry]

It was financing. Oh, man. Four months to sell that. But you sold it for 300, so that means you. You made profit. How much you make?

[Martin Castro Silva]

I made about 35,000. 35,000 on that one.

[Henry]

Still a win. So at least you got paid to learn a lesson. Because some people lose money when they learn a lesson.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Correct?

[Henry]

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[Henry]

All right, we are back with investor Martin learning about his journey to becoming a full time real estate investor. Let's jump back into it.

[Martin Castro Silva]

When I was close to finish that one deal, the one, this first single family home, the same wholesaler reached out and presented me another deal 30 minutes north. He was selling it to me a little bit cheaper than the, than the first one. But I just didn't have the money because I had used my money to buy that deal. So I found a private lender, you know, just separate another client from the bank.

[Henry]

Look at you using them resources.

[Martin Castro Silva]

And he gave me a hard money loan. He's an agent. So I remember telling him, hey listen, if you give me the money, you get to list this deal. He's like, yeah, let's do it. Yeah. So he lent me, he lent me 150,000 using the first house, the first single family house as a collateral. And, and then I used that money to bought the second one the wholesaler had presented me.

[Henry]

Ah, so you took a line of credit out, you cross collateralized that, that first asset. Okay, okay.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Exactly.

[Henry]

I like it. Yeah, I like it. Was it a, the same size renovation or did you. Did it. Was it a bigger.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yeah, same by box, A little, a little bit more. It was like 45 to close to 50,000. Same square footage, three bedroom, two bath. It needed everything. He needed a roof, he needed floors, paint, kitchen, bathrooms, everything full. Good job. He gave me the money, I bought it and then I learned my lesson. Price it right. So I price it at 299, the second single family home in Sebastian and I got it under contract in six hours.

[Henry]

That's what I'm talking about. Lesson learned, Lesson learned. So you made the same amount, but you made it a whole lot faster this time.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Correct, correct. And I was, yeah, I believe I closed those two deals in the same week.

[Henry]

And so at this point you were full time in real estate, so you had left your job. That had to be scary though. Like I get like, I understand that you wanted to move faster, but just leaving your job, that's a big step. What gave you that confidence?

[Martin Castro Silva]

I just didn't want to miss any of the moments with my kids. I had back then I had a 3 year old and a 1 year old boy and I just took a leap of faith. I talked a lot with my wife. I was like a. Listen, worst case scenario, I Can always come back to corporate.

[Henry]

Yeah.

[Martin Castro Silva]

You know, but I want to do something that fulfills me, that gives me motivation because I had lost a little bit of the passion that I, that I had for banking. And all those years, I just wanted to change.

[Henry]

All right, Martin, these are incredible lessons to learn in your first couple of deals and how cool to get paid for your first couple of lessons. I'm very interested to learn what it was like going off on your own now as a full time investor who had some experience. So where did you go after your third, third deal?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Well, one thing that I learned from bigger packets is that you gotta let everyone know you are an investor.

[Henry]

That's right.

[Martin Castro Silva]

I was talking to everyone. The line, you know, Walmart, anywhere, anywhere I go.

[Henry]

It's like anybody who'd listen.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Exactly. Hey, I buy houses, you know, I can buy them cash now that I kind of have a little bit of experience how to finance them, how to get them. So I talked to a neighbor of one of my projects because I've noticed his property was very distressed. The loan was super high.

[Henry]

This was a neighbor from that first

[Martin Castro Silva]

single family home, same street right next to it.

[Henry]

Oh, it was next door. It was the literal neighbor.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yes, yes. And I told him, if you ever want to sell your home, let me know. I may be able to help you. You know, I either buy myself or find you a buyer. You know, I come from the south, so I know a lot of people trying to move. So he's like, oh, you know what? I do want to sell it, but I'm not ready yet. Okay. So we exchanged numbers and that was it. When I was almost done, ready to close on that house.

[Henry]

The sale.

[Martin Castro Silva]

The sale, yeah. He called me up and I bought that house for $150,000, which was $20,000 cheaper than what the wholesaler had told me that very first.

[Henry]

Was it the same size house?

[Martin Castro Silva]

It even has one more room. It was a four, two.

[Henry]

Oh, okay. Okay. How about, how about, how much work did it need? More work?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yeah, I needed a little. A little bit more work. But still the budget was about 55, 50 to 60,000.

[Henry]

Hey, that works out. You know, this is, this is something I learned this from. I think it was Dolmar Cross who flips. He did. He flips on a TV show out in Florida, actually in Tampa. But he would always put a sign up in the yard of the houses he was renovating that said this project is being renovated by, you know, and it have his LLC and the phone number so that the neighbors Knew. And he said he would buy deals like that, the neighbors would call him. And so we started doing that. So I've done deals where we've bought and done multiple houses on the same street just by letting people know. And it's also just good business to let your neighbors know what you're doing, because they'll keep an eye on your house for you and make sure, you know, they'll be like, hey, nobody's been at your house in a couple of days. Right. Or they'll tell you, hey, there was somebody creeping, peeking in the window. It's just good, good to have the neighbors working for you. So you bought that neighbor's house. How did you finance that one? Did you use the line of credit, or did you do like a traditional bank?

[Martin Castro Silva]

No, this time I partnered up with my siblings. It was almost the end of the pandemic era, and they had seen my results. So they sold. They made a profit on the sale of their homes. And then we partnered up, the three of us. So we bought that house cash, we put the money into it, and we made a home run. We probably made like, $65,000.

[Henry]

Oh, nice, man. So do you split it all evenly between three of you?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yes.

[Henry]

That's so cool that you were able to bring your family into it.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yeah.

[Henry]

So tell me what the sale price was.

[Martin Castro Silva]

We sold the house for 320,000.

[Henry]

Okay, so this was 2023.

[Martin Castro Silva]

2023.

[Henry]

Here's what's cool about this story, is you never took no for an answer. Like, if you didn't have the money, you figured out a way to get the money. You weren't afraid to talk to your friends. And all of that stems from a couple of things. A, you have a very strong belief in yourself and your ability to hustle and get things done. But it sounds like you also have a great family structure at home, where your wife supported you and everything that you're doing, and you had great motivation and wanting to be able to spend time with your children. And I think that, like, that's the formula. Like, the formula is, obviously, you need to be able to find good deals, but the real formula is you have a strong reason why, and you don't take no for an answer. I think too many times investors tell themselves no, right? They say, ah, I would do that deal, but, you know, but my credit's not in the right place or, but I'm not quite sure where I'm going to find the money. And they let the buts and the nos stop them. And I think a lot of that is because there's fear. And that fear is either fear of failure, they don't want to fail, or let people down. But I think a lot of the time, too, it's like fear of success. What happens if it works? I got to keep doing this, right? I think that your belief in yourself and your foundation is really what helps set you up. Because it just sounds like if you run into a wall, you would just go talk to somebody and figure out how they were doing it, and then you would try to replicate it. And sometimes it's that simple. Like it's just surround yourself with people who are doing it and figure out how they're doing it. Because I promise you guys, you're going to run into a brick wall. I've done hundreds of deals and I still run into brick walls all the time. But you've got to figure out a way to get through it. You know, I. When I got started, my very first deal, I ran into a brick wall. I told my buddy I was going to buy his house, and then I couldn't find the money. And I called my buddy, who's an investor, and I said, hey, can you buy this deal? Because I told my friend I would and now I can't buy it. And he told me the same thing. He said, henry, yeah, I'll buy that deal. It's a good deal. But if you're going to be in this business, you need to go figure it out. And that's the best part about real estate, is there's a way you can piece a deal together. You just got to be able to do it safely. And so, man, it's such a cool, such a cool, cool story. All right, we've got more amazing story from our investor, Martin Castro Silva right after the break.

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[Henry]

all right, we are back with investor Martin learning about his journey to becoming a full time real estate investor. Let's jump back into it. So here we are in just the beginning of 2026. What does your business look like now? How many deals are you doing in a year?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Well, I had a really good 2025. I bought 11 properties.

[Henry]

Okay.

[Martin Castro Silva]

I was able to flip. Bought unsold seven.

[Henry]

Awesome. So you bought 11 properties in 2025. I have so many questions. So first and foremost, are you keeping any or do you just fix and flip only?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yeah, I have two doors. I kept two single family homes, but I'm mostly flip.

[Henry]

Okay. And kind of what's your buy box look like? Because 11 deals, so you got to have it pretty dialed in. What are you, what are you buying?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yeah, I, I focus mostly on single family homes. 1200 square feet, three tools. Sometimes I have to do a two tools if the square footage allows me to add another room. Price point, purchase price anywhere between 150 to 220 and resale value below 350.

[Henry]

Okay, so you like that first time home buyer, product. I do the same thing. It's just, it's the same. It just helps you stay safe in an uncertain market. Because in that price point, if something doesn't work out, you can probably throw a tenant in it and at least break even. Maybe it costs you a little bit of money, but it's way better than having to pay those hard money fees on a property you can't sell. I love that. And in what market?

[Martin Castro Silva]

I only invest in my city, Vero beach and Sebastian.

[Henry]

So did you move to Vero beach because you weren't in Vero beach when you first started?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yeah. After this.

[Henry]

Wait, wait, wait. Did you move to Vero beach because of those deals and the price points?

[Martin Castro Silva]

That's awesome, Henry. I bought the first single family home. I bought the second one and then I bought the third one. I was like, I'm getting my deals here. This is the price point. This is what I can afford to do. Yeah. That's why. Yeah. I told my wife, hey, listen, you know, we have a very nice house in Fort Lauderdale, but the drive, you know, and I didn't want to be far from my family. So it's like, it's time to move.

[Henry]

So you move to Vero beach and now that's where you mainly operate at.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yes.

[Henry]

I really love that. More affordable too. And so you're probably able to get yourself a little more house, a little more bang for your buck.

[Martin Castro Silva]

I did, thank God. Yes. I was able to sell my house. I was, I sold my house in 2024, early 2024, able to get on the last wave, you know, where prices were high, so I was able to buy my. Sold out. When I'm buying a house here.

[Henry]

I love this story, Martin, because of all the hustle that you've put in. But one of the best parts about real estate is some of the best benefit it allows for us. A, you use real estate to switch markets and live in a more affordable market. Has real estate provided you any other cool benefits? What's, what's the story you could tell us about something cool, maybe you've done with some of your property?

[Martin Castro Silva]

One time I was just leaving my house, going to work, going to a job site, to a project, and my neighbor, I mean, remember I told everybody that I know I'm an investor and I buy houses. So I was living my house and my neighbor waves at me like this, and she stopped me, I was like, hey, how are you? What happened? I'm selling my house. I was like, stop, let me. I stop. I pulled up, walked the house with her. She told me what she wanted. I think it was a fair price. And I quickly called my sister in law because I, I knew she was looking for a house. You know, like down south, houses are more expensive so they could get more, more house for the money over here. So I called her up, I told her, hey, listen, you gotta come up and you gotta see this house because my neighbor is selling and I want you to be my neighbor. So she came up and we were, we were able to lock this house up and put under contract. And then she got a deal, you know, no commissions, no nothing. So real estate has given me the tools to also help my family members.

[Henry]

Oh, man, that's cool. So now you've created your own little community over there in Vero Beach. I love this story, man. It's just a great story about how someone can use real estate to provide them more freedom. Look, obviously you quit your job and you use real estate to do that. But let's not, let's not, you know, sugarcoat this like you replaced one job with another. Flipping houses is a job. If you stop flipping houses, you stop making money, right? So we're not saying that you retired from real estate, but. But it has changed your family's future, it's changed your future. And when you set out, you wanted to be able to spend more time with your kids. Have you been able to accomplish that goal?

[Martin Castro Silva]

Yes, I have. I now have a crew that I work with, right? They're the Ones that take care of the remodeling that we have of the projects. And this year in particular, I stopped working weekends. Yeah. Saturday and Sunday are for just the family. We do family activities, and we. We try to spend as much time together as possible because time flies.

[Henry]

Time does fly. My kids are growing up so fast, but it's so cool. Like, I. Me too. I left corporate, but I flip houses, so I have a job as well. But the. The best part is I make my own hours. Like, if I want to take a day off, no one's gonna die.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Exactly.

[Henry]

Right. Like, the houses will still get worked on. It'll be fine. Right. Maybe something won't go as smoothly as I want it to because I don't have all the perfect systems in place, but no one's dying. Like, you get to make your own schedule, and I can spend that time that I choose to spend with my family. And it's cool to see that you're doing something similar. And so before we get out of here, Martin, I want you to reach out to some of the people who are maybe in the same boat as you who have a job. They don't have the passion for their job anymore. They'd love to replace it with real estate, but it's scary. It's scary right now. So are there any lessons you want to share with them or just any words of wisdom you can give people who are seeing this and wanting to do what you did?

[Martin Castro Silva]

I love to answer that, but do you mind if I do it in Spanish for the Spanish audience?

[Henry]

Oh, I would love that. That's awesome. Thank you.

[Martin Castro Silva]

Absolutament, Henry. No de veri anger miedo.

[Henry]

I love it. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for sharing those words of wisdom. There are a lot of people out there who are in a very similar position to you who maybe just need that little push. And I love. I love that you were able to do that and you are able to share your experience. One of the best things I love about Martin is Martin's just a good dude. He's just a good dude, and this business needs more good people. So thank you so much, Martin, for coming on the BiggerPockets podcast and sharing your story. I wish you the best as you continue to grow and expand your business in 2026. And thank you, everybody, for listening to the BiggerPockets podcast. And also, if you learned something from Martin's story, I want you to check out episode 1231 from January 26th with investor Ne Neil Whitney. Neal is another inspiring example of how even basic, affordable real estate investing can change your entire financial future. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of the BiggerPockets podcast. We'll see you on the next episode.

[Dave Meyer]

Thank you all for listening to the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast. Make sure you get all our new episodes by subscribing on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or any other podcast platform. Our new episodes come out Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I'm the host and executive producer of the show, Dave Meyer. The show is produced by Ian K. Copywriting is by Calico, content and editing is by Exodus Media. If you'd like to learn more about real estate investing or to sign up for our free newsletter, please visit www.biggerpockets.com. the content of this podcast is for informational purposes only. All host and participant opinions are their own. Investment in any asset, real estate included, involves risk, so use your best judgment and consult with qualified advisors before investing. You should only risk capital you can afford to lose. And remember, past performance is not indicative of future results. BiggerPockets LLC disclaims all liability for direct, indirect, consequential or other damages arising from a reliance on information presented in this podcast.