Ashlee Edwards is a full-time attorney who bought eight properties while continuing to work a demanding job. She began investing during the pandemic after witnessing how quickly income, stability, and control can disappear when financial security depends entirely on an employer.

What she did:
• Continued working full-time as an attorney while buying properties ⚖️
• Used pandemic downtime to listen to podcasts and read books 📚
• Invested in real estate education and completed every module 🎓
• Built entities, bank accounts, and systems while learning 🧱
• Saved aggressively instead of increasing lifestyle 💰

How you can apply it:
• Use unexpected downtime intentionally
• Learn and execute at the same time
• Build systems before buying properties
• Avoid lifestyle creep to accelerate progress

Protecting the Income That Enabled Her Growth 🛡️

Ashlee focused on financial security, not job security, and treated her income as a strategic asset rather than something to escape quickly.

What she did:
• Maintained her attorney role while buying properties
• Used steady income to save for down payments
• Avoided unnecessary changes that could weaken lending strength

How you can apply it:
• Protect the income that funds early deals
• Use your job or business as leverage
• Delay risky transitions until systems are built

Using Savings Discipline as a Competitive Advantage 🏦

Ashlee developed disciplined saving habits long before learning how to invest, which later allowed her to act decisively.

What she did:
• Practiced structured saving techniques learned early in life
• Increased savings as income increased
• Used saved capital to buy early properties

How you can apply it:
• Treat saving as a skill
• Increase savings before increasing spending
• Use discipline to shorten your timeline

Operating Real Estate With a Demanding Schedule 📆

Ashlee manages real estate alongside her job by eliminating chaos and decision fatigue.

What she did:
• Used one digital work calendar for all responsibilities
• Scheduled real estate tasks like appointments
• Focused on one task at a time
• Used her calendar as a live to-do list

How you can apply it:
• Run life and business from one calendar
• Time-block real estate tasks
• Eliminate multitasking to increase output

Eliminating Distractions to Increase Focus 🔕

Ashlee intentionally limits interruptions to protect deep focus while working a demanding professional role.

What she did:
• Turned off phone, email, and message notifications
• Used focus and do-not-disturb modes
• Created specific windows for communication

How you can apply it:
• Silence non-essential notifications
• Create focused work windows
• Accept delayed responses as a productivity trade-off

Early DIY for Education 🛠️

Ashlee took early action to understand systems and processes—not because she had to, but to learn.

What she did:
• Learned real estate systems through execution
• Built confidence by doing, not watching
• Used early action as education

How you can apply it:
• Treat early DIY as short-term training
• Learn systems well enough to manage others later
• Move from learning to delegation over time

Why She’s Now Focusing on Private Money Lending 💼💵

As her portfolio matured, Ashlee began focusing more on private money lending as a way to grow income with fewer time demands.

What she did:
• Leveraged her real estate experience into private

Steven built his portfolio while working 10–12 hour retail shifts, then dedicating nights and weekends to real estate. His early focus was education, mentorship, and disciplined deal analysis. He carved out consistent time instead of trying to do everything at once.

Rather than letting real estate interfere with his job, Steven protected his work performance so income remained stable. That steady paycheck became the engine behind his growth, allowing him to reinvest and scale methodically.

🏗️ How Steven Built His Portfolio While Still Employed

Steven’s primary strategy was buying distressed properties, completing mostly cosmetic renovations, increasing rents, refinancing, and repeating the process. Early on, he used creative financing — including a credit card cash advance — which he paid off after refinancing.

To maximize buying power, he lived at home until he surpassed 100 units and reinvested nearly all profits. His days were long, but structured. The takeaway: building on the side requires planning, not endless free time.

📍 What He Bought and Where He Invested

Steven focused on:
• Single-family homes
• Duplexes and triplexes
• Small apartment buildings (generally 10 units or fewer)

He invested across Central North Carolina, between Raleigh and Charlotte, targeting middle- to upper-lower-class neighborhoods. He avoided luxury markets and high-risk areas, choosing locations where cash flow and tenant demand were more predictable.

📊 Key Takeaways for High-Income Earners and Business Owners Investing on the Side

Steven evaluates deals by focusing on purchase price, value creation, and real cash flow — not headlines or interest rate noise. His long-standing goal has been roughly $300 per unit per month after expenses, with enough cushion to handle vacancies and repairs.

He emphasizes knowing every number, building reserves, and underwriting conservatively so real estate supports life — not the other way around.

⏱️ If You Are Starting With Little Time or Money

Steven believes real estate is uniquely suited for busy professionals. Even a few focused hours per week can create momentum if used intentionally. Education, mentorship, and patience mattered more than speed early on.

🤝 Why Passive Investing in Real Estate Is So Powerful

Passive investing allows professionals to participate in real estate without day-to-day operations. Steven explains that partnering with experienced operators can provide exposure to cash flow and long-term wealth while preserving time for careers and family.

🧭 Coaching Advice For Active and Passive Investors Buying Real Estate Part-Time (Steven Andrews)

• For new investors: Build the foundation first. Understand the numbers before buying anything.
• On balance: Shift from living to work toward working to live. Growth should be sustainable.
• With limited time or money: Be consistent and methodical. Planning beats rushing.
• On underwriting: Never guess. Run the numbers carefully and double-check assumptions.

📚 Books Recommended for Active and Passive Investors

• Building Wealth — Russell Whitney
• The New American Dream — Steven Andrews

Click On This Link For Our Free E-Book "An Introduction Into Apartment Syndication: https://moonlightcre.com/ebook_download/
Website: Moonlightcre.com
Click On The Link Below To Schedule A Call With Eric:https://calendly.com/moonlightequitiesgroup/scheduled-conversation
Click On The Link Below For More Information About Eric Lindsey:
https://linktr.ee/ericlindsey

Building a Portfolio While Working Full-Time

Steven built a 300-unit portfolio while working 10–12 hour retail shifts.

What he did:
• Worked retail days and handled real estate at night
• Pushed through 14–15 hour days early on
• Lived at home to reinvest everything
• Used DIY only for learning
• Followed his mentor and Building Wealth
• Bought the worst house on the block to force appreciation

How you can apply it:
• Use early mornings, nights, and weekends
• Treat your job as part of your investment strategy
• Reinvest heavily at the start
• Lean on mentorship to avoid mistakes

Protecting Income to Stay Lendable

What he did:
• Kept his job stable for five years
• Used job income to qualify for loans
• Lived frugally to reinvest more
• Avoided decisions that hurt lending

How you can apply it:
• Maintain strong income while you scale
• Build relationships with lenders
• Keep expenses low to stay bankable

Delegation as a Scaling Tool

What he did:
• Started with DIY
• Shifted to contractors as he grew
• Focused on decisions, not labor

How you can apply it:
• Learn the basics, then outsource
• Build your contractor list early
• Protect your time

Early DIY for Education

What he did:
• Learned repairs, pricing, and contractor language
• Only DIY’d long enough to get educated

How you can apply it:
• Use early DIY as temporary training
• Learn enough to evaluate bids and avoid overpaying

Designing a Low-Risk Buy Box

What he did:
• Targeted middle/upper-low-class areas
• Bought the worst cosmetic house
• Sought overlooked value-add deals

How you can apply it:
• Choose areas where dollars go further
• Focus on cosmetic value-add
• Avoid overinflated neighborhoods

How He Funded His First Deals

What he did:
• Used a credit-card cash advance for his first down payment
• Borrowed 85% from a local bank
• Made cosmetic improvements with more credit
• Refinanced to pull out capital
• Recycled the same money repeatedly using BRRR

How you can apply it:
• Use creative funding if you lack cash
• Recycle capital whenever possible
• Judge lenders by structure, not rate
• Run your numbers carefully

The Real Sacrifice Behind His Growth

What he did:
• Worked 14–15 hour days
• Juggled retail, rentals, and relationships
• Faced burnout
• Stayed disciplined for five years before leaving his job

How you can apply it:
• Expect short-term sacrifice
• Build systems to protect your health
• Pace yourself to avoid burnout
• Set realistic timelines for your season of life

Click On This Link For Our Free E-Book "An Introduction Into Apartment Syndication: https://moonlightcre.com/ebook_download/
Website: Moonlightcre.com
Click On The Link Below To Schedule A Call With Eric:https://calendly.com/moonlightequitiesgroup/scheduled-conversation
Click On The Link Below For More Information About Eric Lindsey:
https://linktr.ee/ericlindsey