Noah Sprimont

About Noah Sprimont

Callie (my wife) and I didn’t come from money, connections, or a clean roadmap. We met just out of high school. I moved from a bachelor pad back into my parents’ basement to look more “stable,” and she basically moved in with me there. She wanted college, I didn’t, but I didn’t want long distance—so I went.
After a few semesters at Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids, we moved back to Dubuque, worked jobs, and quit pretending school was the plan.
We rented a five-bedroom house with four roommates so our rent was about $275/month. That’s when it clicked: if we’re paying rent anyway, we might as well own something and build equity. We were 20–21 with about $3,700 combined, student loans, and zero credibility. No bank or realtor took us seriously, so we kept pushing.
We found a rough single-family with good bones. Asking was $115k. We offered $107k with a $7k credit and got accepted. The appraisal came back C4, so the bank said no. I asked to escrow repair money instead—if I didn’t fix it, they keep it. They agreed. A contractor buddy wrote a minimal bid under $1,000. With 3.5% FHA down and a first-time homebuyer class, we closed with about $2,700 out of pocket.
I was selling motorcycles at Harley-Davidson. I’d clock out, change clothes, and renovate at night. We moved in before it was finished.
Soon after, a friend asked me to partner on a fully gutted duplex in a rough part of town. Purchase price was $30k. I quit my job to renovate. We borrowed $20k each from his dad and sister at 10% interest. Four months later we refinanced at a $140k appraisal, paid everyone back with interest, and each walked away with about $12k. The duplex cash-flowed close to $1,000/month. That’s when I knew this wasn’t a side hustle.
We converted part of our house into a second unit and listed it on Airbnb. First month did $2,500+. We refinanced and pulled out about $40k.
Next, we bought a fourplex with a fire-damaged unit for $158,450. The bank lent on after-repair value at $232k and credited us $25k–$30k at closing. We renovated and turned it into an Airbnb that grossed $4,000 its first month, then repeated the process on another unit.
Since then, we’ve done many more deals the same scrappy way. Today, still in our 20s, we own enough rentals to choose whether or not we go to work. Callie lived every step of this with me and knows what it feels like to start with nothing and build it piece by piece.