How Cameron Philgreen Built a Sprawling Portfolio Over Eight Years

In 2018, Cameron and his wife bought their first property in Lawrence, Kansas, a three-bedroom house they would Airbnb room by room to cover the mortgage. Cameron worked as a wedding photographer. 

Fast-forward to today: Cameron now owns 25 properties totaling 35 units, a specialty coffee shop, and has a 50,000-square-foot commercial redevelopment underway in Waco, Texas. Here’s how he built his sprawling portfolio.

How did you finance your early deals with no outside capital?

The BRRRR method was everything. My target is 70 to 75 cents on the dollar. If I hit that, I could refinance, pull all my cash out, and do it again.

Our first true investment property was bought for $95K. We put in $80K, so the after-repair value (ARV) came in around $200K. We left some money in that one, but five years later, it appraised at $270K, and we were able to pull cash out. After that, I began building relationships with hard money lenders, and capital stopped being a constraint.

How do you consistently find deals to scale?

The cheat code is a Redfin filter. Filter for a price per square foot under $100 and days on market over 45. It emails you automatically whenever something fits. Sellers sitting that long are motivated. 

I still have to make about 10 offers to land one, but between that filter, wholesalers, and Facebook groups, the deals are out there if you’re willing to make offers.

What’s the mindset that carried you through a decade of building?

Get clear on your “why.” We shared bathrooms with strangers. We gutted a house ourselves for six days a week, three months straight. None of it was comfortable. But real estate doesn’t have to be your passion. 

The whole point is to use it to fund your passions. Ours funded a coffee shop. Ultimately, you should figure out what you’d do if your time were yours, then go buy the property that gets you there.

You can continue following Cameron’s real estate journey on his YouTube channel.