A former gardener says he became a self-made millionaire in just 16 months thanks to YouTube tutorials. Last year, Reno Davis, 22, used to spend hours mowing lawns for a local landscaper, making just £650 a week.
Reno stumbled on the wholesale real estate business and says he's now set to bank his first million. Reno said: “The irony of my becoming a millionaire is that I was terrible with money when I was growing up."
He added: "In February last year, I was working for somebody else doing landscaping but I always knew that I wanted to work for myself. One day, a friend told me about people wholesaling real estate, which is flipping a property contract.
"It's an incredibly lucrative practise which involves making cash offers to owners of run-down homes, then selling the contract to an investor at a profit. I'd never been to college and didn't really know how it worked, so I Googled 'how to do this job' and then went on YouTube and taught myself.
"I was watching YouTube tutorials all day and night for weeks."
After learning the basics, Reno booked some online courses to learn more about the wholesale real estate game. He set up his own business and in June 2021, he got his first deal and made £19,000. Two weeks later, he scored a second deal, raking in another £27,000.
Reno didn’t even require an initial investment to kick things off due to the fact he was able to rip up the contract if he didn't find an investor within 30 days – meaning cash only changed hands if the deal went through.
The real estate practice is legal in the US. Reno said: "So, my mum, she's a traditional real estate agent, but she’d never heard of wholesaling.
“To her, the idea of getting a house under contract and hoping for a profit with none of your own money even being put down, was wrong and embarrassing. The day I made my second deal, I collected the bank draft and went straight home to show it to her.
"She tried to persuade me not to start a business doing that so when I showed her the check, she was like, 'Is that even legit?!'
During Reno's best month ever, he pocketed £128,000 and his total turnover since he launched the venture is £1.14 million.
The 22-year-old used to lived in a shack in a neighbour’s garden and has just bought himself a £1million luxury home.
Reno has also splurged on a nice car, leaving a Jaguar car salesman speechless when he strolled into the showroom and instantly bought a brand new yellow Jaguar Type R Coupe. A determined buyer, Reno didn't even test drive the car first.
He said: “When I walked into the dealership I said ‘I want the fastest Jaguar, the best there is'. He says, ‘Well, man, I got this one right here. I can give it to you for about £92,000'.
"Then he started talking about doing a credit check and I told him there 'there's no need, give me two hours, I'm going to the bank'.
"I came back with a cashier's cheque for the total amount and asked him to give me the keys. He was speechless."
Days later Reno, who showcases his life @iamrenodavis on Instagram, paid another $5,000 to have the supercar wrapped in a multi-coloured hue. He has previously owned a Cadillac XT5 SUV and a BMW M3.
The entrepreneur is also able to indulge his passion for designer clothing, regularly spending up to £9,000 a month on shopping.
Taking pride of place in his closet are his £2,600 lime green Christian Louboutin shoes, embedded with rhinestone crystals.
Reno's new life is a far cry from the days of being driven around the local neighbourhood by his engineer dad who would come home from work, hook up the lawnmower on a trailer and take Reno around looking for lawns to mow for a few dollars.
He said: “I knew I could do something bigger than real estate. I wanted to have financial freedom and have my own business, so that's why I took the entrepreneur route.
“Anyone can do what I’ve done if they work hard enough to learn it. I hope I’m an inspiration to other people out there who maybe don’t know what they want to do, who want to make something of their lives.”
