#182 How I Scaled My Real Estate Portfolio to Support Adventures of a Lifetime ft. Dr. Larry Daugherty
In this episode, Dr. Peter Kim interviews Dr. Larry Daugherty, an adventuring radiation oncologist with an awesome story to tell. Tune in to get insights on getting started with real estate, overcoming hurdles, and living your desired life.
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Episode Highlights
Now, let’s look at what we discussed in this episode:
- Balancing Life and Adventure
- Choosing Real Estate
- Taking the First Steps
- Overcoming Big Challenges
- Examining the Why
Here’s a breakdown of how this episode unfolds.
Episode Breakdown
Balancing Life and Adventure
Peter asks Larry what his life looks like today, his assets, his career, and the adventures he’s having.
Dr. Larry Daugherty shares how he built a portfolio of nearly 200 doors of real estate, primarily focusing on commercial multifamily real estate. He has about $28 million of directly owned real estate and works part-time as a radiation oncologist in Alaska.
He also started a nonprofit called Radiating Hope, which aims to improve access to cancer care in developing countries through fundraising adventure trips.
Initially, his career plan was to work in academics, but he discovered a passion for adventure and freedom after winning a contest that allowed him to go on a trip. This led him to pursue a life that aligned with his true passions and ultimately led him to Alaska and meeting Dr. Peter Kim.
“But really what I realized Peter, is that all of it was just about freedom… the freedom to live a life that I really wanted to.” — Larry Daugherty, MD.
Choosing Real Estate
Peter moves the conversation by asking why Larry chose Real Estate to propel his dreams of adventure and freedom.
Dr. Larry Daugherty stumbled upon real estate by accident after reaching a net worth of zero. He started learning about personal finance and investing, and through the influence of resources like Jim Dahl and the White Coat Investor, he discovered the potential of real estate.
After attending a conference led by Dr. Peter Kim, he was inspired by physicians who had achieved financial freedom through real estate investments. Motivated by their success, he acquired his first four-plex and experienced the thrill of receiving a rental income check. This ignited his vision and passion for real estate as a means to create the life he desired.
“I think what gave me the most confidence is being able to run the numbers, like learning from people that had taken those steps, and knowing what a cash-flowing asset is. That’s what allowed me to go forward.” — Larry Daugherty, MD.
Taking the First Steps
In retrospect, Peter asks Larry how he made it happen at the onset. He asks crucial questions like overcoming fear, getting his first property, and figuring it all out while still being a physician.
Dr. Larry Daugherty initially had reservations about investing in real estate due to a negative experience as an accidental landlord. However, through gaining knowledge and meeting other physicians who had successfully invested in cash-flowing properties, he overcame his fears.
He started with a four-plex and quickly acquired more properties, eventually facing a capital bottleneck. To overcome this, he developed relationships with agents and took risks, such as using a loan to purchase a 15-unit commercial asset.
While balancing his full-time physician job, Dr. Daugherty involved his family in the real estate business, with his wife becoming a real estate professional and his daughter assisting with property rehab. The desire to secure a financial future for his family motivated him. Eventually, he was able to transition to part-time work as a locum, which has allowed him more freedom and meaningful moments with his family.
“I’m able to take my son to school, drop him off, he gets out of the car, and just turns around and says ‘I love you, dad’. That’s when I knew that I had become a freedom physician and what that meant to me” — Larry Daugherty, MD.
Overcoming Big Challenges
Peter probes Larry on what were the hardest challenges he had to deal with throughout his journey, what were the struggles, and how he overcame them.
Dr. Larry Daugherty emphasized the importance of mindset and resilience. He shares his experience of attempting to climb Mount Everest and relates it to real estate, highlighting the need to overcome setbacks and view them as opportunities for growth. Dr. Daugherty believes that any doctor can achieve success in real estate with the right mentorship and taking the first step.
He now runs a mentorship program to help physicians who already have some real estate experience and want to scale their investments, particularly in commercial multifamily properties.
“I think if I can do it, literally anybody can do it. I knew nothing about real estate, I think it’s just all about finding a mentor, you know, learning and taking that first step. ” — Larry Daugherty, MD.
Examining the Why
Peter asked Larry why, despite all the success, he chose to do all this, and become who he is now.
Dr. Larry Daugherty shares his motivation for starting a mentorship program. Despite not currently being a major source of income for him, he believes in the value of helping others who are just like him achieve financial freedom and live their lives to the fullest..
Quoting Zig Ziglar’s philosophy that by helping others achieve their goals, he will also achieve his own.
He finds fulfillment and energy in surrounding himself with like-minded physicians who are all working towards similar goals, and believes that mentoring others also aids his own personal growth and progress.
“Surrounding yourself with like-minded physicians who are all kind of working towards the same thing. It’s so energizing. And it helps me as well. So I enjoy it. But it also, I think, helps me along my own journey.” — Larry Daugherty, MD.
