At 25, she owned 5 rental properties, but says investing in real estate was her No. 1 money mistake: 'I was really naive'
By Valentina Duarte
Published on March 18, 2026.
Naseema McElroy, a 44-year-old labor and delivery nurse, has grown her net worth to over $1 million after investing in real estate at the age of 25. She initially used subprime lending practices to obtain high-interest mortgages in the early 2000s, but the housing market crashed in 2008 and she was forced to sell two investments for less than their mortgages. McElory's failure to understand the true costs of real estate was her biggest money-related mistake. Alex Caswell, a certified financial planner and founder of Wealth Script Advisors, also cautioned that real estate investing requires extensive research and dedication.
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