'Like A Kid In A Candy Store': High School Teacher Rakes In $45K A Month From 64 Homes

History teacher Dominic Kosteris has amassed a real estate portfolio of five dozen properties, generating more than $500,000 in annual profits.

How He Did It: After graduating college, Kosteris lived at home with his parents and worked two jobs.

Zero housing expenses plus multiple income sources allowed Kosteris to save "a lot" of his money, he told Business Insider. He also picked the brain of his parents' neighbor — a real estate investor — to learn more about the business. He liked what he heard and decided to invest his money in real estate.

By 1998, Kosteris was 28 years old and tapping his savings to buy his first house — a two-bedroom town home — for $53,000. Monthly payments totaled $335.

He then started thinking he might be able to manage an investment property — a $59,000 single-family house. After putting 10% down on, he found a renter and began making about $500 a month.

"So I did it again," he said, accumulating multiple properties over the next decade.

'The Perfect Storm'

Before the 2008 financial crisis, Kosteris began to back off buying as prices surged.

"The deals just didn't make sense," he said.

That turned out to be the right move. He was able to save up enough money to start buying properties "like a kid in a candy store" in 2008 when housing prices were cheap. 

By 2010, the income from his properties exceeded his annual salary.

When the Covid pandemic hit a decade later, Kosteris started buying even more aggressively when mortgage rates plummeted. 

"It was like the perfect storm," Kosteris said. "A lot of my properties were almost, or even fully, paid off. I was getting more money from rents, and then the interest rates fell, and I was coming across some pretty good deals."

Today, Kosteris spends about seven hours a week managing 64 properties, generating up to $45,000 a month in profits. Twenty-five of the 64 homes are entirely paid off. He plans to expand his portfolio to 80 homes by 2023 and 100 by 2025 — the year he plans to retire.

With his current income, he no longer has to work his day job, but he loves teaching, so he's still working at the local high school.

"I enjoy what I do," Kosteris says. "Also, if I retire now, they would tax the heck out of my pension."

Now Read: 29-Year-Old Freelance Writer's 5 Thrifty Habits To A $400K Income And $1.2M Property Portfolio

This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

Photo created with artificial intelligence using MidJourney.