As a real estate investor, Hayden Crabtree is passionate about the ability to work with others in his career. While studying to complete his undergraduate degree, Hayden questioned if a traditional job was the right path for him. “Back when I was in college, I realized the system was broken,” he explains. “Why were my professors teaching me about business? None of them had actually run a business. None of them were successful CEOs. They were all teachers and always had been. All theory, no real world experience.”
Doubting that school was giving him the tools he needed to succeed, Hayden began pursuing other career options. From Forex trading to E-Commerce, he tried it all. Rather than feeling fulfilled, though, Hayden longed for a career where he could go out and talk to people. He wanted to get out from behind the computer where he could see tangible results for the work he was putting in. “I googled ‘real estate investing Athens, GA’ and a forum came up,” Hayden recalls. “I read a post from this one guy who had wholesaled eight duplexes and made a couple hundred grand. Then bought them back, did a cash-out refinance, and went on to own them with no money down and still had cash flow each month. I was hooked.”
Hayden found the man’s number and offered to buy him coffee. Instead, he was invited to meet at a real estate property and got to work soon after. “Long story short, I offered to work for this guy for free,” he remembers. “But it was a great experience because he had been in real estate for a decade at that time and was doing it all: house flips, wholesaling, single family rentals and apartments. I got more real estate experience in a year than most people do in a decade.”
After over a year of mentorship, Hayden was brought on as a partner in the business. “I did whatever I could to add value to the business,” he recalls. From managing contractors, to leasing apartments, and even to painting a house in the Georgia heat, Hayden proved himself to be a valuable asset, undoubtedly setting a precedent for the future of his career.
Today, at the young age of 24, Hayden recently closed a $13,000,000 real estate deal of his own. With a desire to help others understand the industry, he set a goal of helping 1,000 people buy their first investment property. To that end, he published his first book titled “Skip the Flip” with the goal of teaching people the real estate tips that could change their lives in as little time as possible. “For those who want to go even deeper, I have an online program where I coach my students every week on the deals they are looking at and how to obtain financial freedom,” Hayden explains. “I am really inspired to help others.”