Within a short period of years after being fired from his $38,000 a year call center job which he put up with to make ends meet, today, Nasar El-Arabi has successfully turned his life around running his seven-figure real estate business.
While it’s no news the percentage of black homeowners being unlikely, the New Jersey native has applaud ably joined the coveted statistics rewriting the real estate game.
Drawing from his strong support system during his childhood, Nasar’s parents always emphasized that he could be anything he put his mind to, including being wealthy.
At just eight years old he learned a life lesson that taught him the importance of making his own money when his mom wouldn’t purchase a Darkwing Duck toy he wanted. “You have enough toys,” she had said bluntly, but he didn’t take no for an answer and decided
selling candy and saving profits was the way to go. True to his word a determined Nasar managed to save up the money, but later decided against buying it, but that singular act opened his eyes about the power of determination.
At age 19 his interest in real estate was sparked many thanks to a conversation he overheard, his father and a friend were discussing a house his neighbor had just completed.
“The owner sold it to the investor for $150,000, the investor put $20,000 into it and then sold it for $270,000,” Nasar recalls. Eyes opened, with a renewed sense of direction and purpose, he knew real estate was the path for him – the path towards financial independence.
A few years later an eager Nasar together with a friend swung into action and invested a total of $32,000 into an investment property but things didn’t go as planned and the pair ended up losing $14,000. That hard lesson was one that he would carry with him the rest of his life.
“I realized that I had to learn about real estate before investing in real estate. I never learned about real estate; I just hopped in,” he said. Despite that significant loss, Nasar understood that he’d come out on top if he gained some more education.
At the height of the 2008 recession and right out of college—he got a low-end $10 an hour call center job but got fired.
“Those were the only places hiring,” he said. “Life in the call center was terrible. When I would head into work on Mondays, it was like having a refrigerator on my back. I didn’t like it there, and I knew it wasn’t my calling. I didn’t’ go to college for this.” It wasn’t until he got his hands on a copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad that Nasar began to understand the fullness of the options and opportunities that lay in wait for him.
Today, thankfully it’s all turned around, Nasar proudly stands as a seven-figure real estate investment mogul. But he’s not just about personal success, he is committed to showing and empowering others, specifically the black community the way to financial freedom through real estate.
Inequity.org shared that “a report released by the United States Department of Agriculture, Who Owns the Land,” revealed that “[Black] Americans, despite making up 13 percent of the population, own less than 1 percent of rural land in the country.” It was also reported that homeownership rates show that Black Americans are currently the least likely group to own homes.”
“It’s important to teach Black Americans about owning real estate because it puts them in a position to OWN not only real estate but their time,” Nasar shared. “Before 1968, Black Americans legally could not own land in certain places in America. This hit close to home because my father could not own property anywhere until after 1968,” he shared. “Certainly, a lot of Black families did not teach wealth building because the law excluded them based on their skin color. But today, we have an opportunity to change that.”
Nasar knows first hand what it means to be under, yet rise from it:
“If you’re in a dark place, I strongly recommend that you figure out where you want to go. Try to figure out what your passion is. If you don’t know, then try to put yourself into an industry where you can make a good income. It’s better to be depressed with $10,000 in the bank than depressed living check to check.”
