26 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE^ 05/2019lease to the bank and the banker or-
ders a new appraisal. Based on the new
value of the property and anticipated
rental income, Jason takes out a new,
15-year commercial mortgage. He uses
the loan proceeds to replenish the line
of credit and pays down the loan with
the rent he collects.Investing for the long haul. The Rectors
keep properties for at least five to 10
years. Jason will sell if he can find a
buyer willing to pay more than market
value or if he can cash in on home-
price appreciation to buy a larger
property with more units. “My ap-
proach to real estate investing isn’t
get-rich-quick,” he says.
Jason, who still works 52 hours
a week as a firefighter and recently
launched a construction company,
used to manage and maintain the
properties himself, and he says he
never evicted a tenant. Now he em-
ploys 20 people as well as his two
brothers and his mother. “I get to do
the fun stuff, focusing on acquisitions
and starting new businesses,” he says.
“I’ve learned that to be successful,
you must have a why, and the bigger
the why, the more successful you can
be,” says Jason. Jason’s work as a fire-
fighter gives him the opportunity to
make someone’s day better, he says.
The couple give 10% of their income
to their church, they’re active in the
local United Way, and they’re found-
ing a nonprofit to pursue community
mentorship and international aid.
“The more money we make, the more
we can give away,” says Jason.
The Rectors live comfortably but
don’t need a “crazy, fancy lifestyle,”
Jason says. In 2018, they bought a lake
house that they share with family and
a new group of guests each weekend.
They gave each of their two children
a rental property on their first birth-
days, and as the kids get older, they’ll
help manage the property. When the
children reach college age, they can
use their houses to generate money for
school, income or seed money to start
their own businesses.The Financial Planner
J
ennifer Myers may have picked one
of the worst times in recent history
to launch her financial-planning busi-
ness. Myers, 47, started SageVest
Wealth Management in 2007, just as
the U.S. was on the verge of an eco-
nomic meltdown. “People were scared
of advisers and the market in general,let alone working with a relatively
new and small company,” she says.
Clients who signed on with her
needed a lot of hand-holding to get
through what was an extremely har-
rowing time.
Myers says her business began to
grow as the economy recovered and
investments she made during the
downturn paid off. When she started
her firm, in McLean, Va., she had■ AFTER BUILDING A
SUCCESSFUL WEALTH
MANAGEMENT FIRM,
JENNIFER MYERS
LAUNCHED A FINANCIAL-
LITERACY SITE FOR KIDS.PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN DONNELLMONEY COVER STORY