Willie Coleman on Real Estate Investing in Your Teen Years and Early 20s

Some stories start with a textbook. Willie Coleman began with a crowbar, a purple bathtub, and an itch to figure things out. In this lively Selling Greenville conversation, a young investor traces the line from homeschooled afternoons on demolition crews to high-stakes luxury builds—stopping along the way to talk about wholesaling, bias and resilience, Gen Z’s evolving relationship with housing, and why momentum beats perfection every time. What emerges is a portrait of someone who didn’t wait for permission: he learned the trades, learned people, and learned deals—and then kept evolving.

Real Estate Investing in Your Teen Years and Early 20s

Willie Coleman didn’t stumble into real estate investing in your teen years and early 20s by accident. He grew up in a military family, was homeschooled, and was close to parents who were themselves just getting into flips. By 13, when schoolwork wrapped for the day, he was in project houses doing landscaping and demo. Instead of smashing everything in sight, he started salvaging—carefully removing appliances, cabinetry, even the odd colorful tub—and selling them on OfferUp and Craigslist. The result: an early taste of margin and market demand, with regular months at two to three thousand dollars while most kids his age were just figuring out chores.

At 15, a local REIA meeting introduced him to wholesaling. The concept clicked: find a discounted property, contract it, and assign the contract to an end buyer. A minor can’t sign purchase agreements, so he formed an LLC with his older brother and got to work, choosing cold calling as his lane and sticking with it. The first deal hit, then dozens followed. Between ages 15 and 18, he wholesaled somewhere in the range of 60–70 properties. By 17, his wholesaling company posted roughly $700,000 in revenue. College? For him, the numbers and the hands-on education made that an easy no.

Learning the whole house—then learning the whole deal

Coleman’s teenage years weren’t only phones and paperwork. He learned electrical, plumbing, and roofing—the full construction arc—so he’d know what it actually takes to build or fix a house. That practical literacy later informed how he scoped opportunities, evaluated risk, and communicated with contractors and buyers. It also fed a habit he carried forward: whenever the path looked brute-force, ask how to work smarter—like salvaging cabinets instead of smashing them, or turning a list of “what buyers say they want” into a hunting map of “what they’ve actually bought in the past 60 days.”

“Lead with value” in a competitive town

When a hot market produced a new wholesaler seemingly every week, Coleman built his buyers' list by leading with specifics. He’d ask established investors what they actually closed on recently—the exact addresses—and then go find more of those. Instead of peppering inboxes with off-fit inventory, he brought tailored opportunities. In a business where everyone says, “I’m looking for deals,” he distinguished himself by doing the hard, unglamorous sourcing that made transactions simple.

Navigating bias without losing momentum

Coleman is candid about walking into rooms—and living rooms—where age, race, or class triggered snap judgments. His approach: acknowledge the disadvantage, then out-prepare it. If a seller’s comments revealed a bias, he adapted the process (e.g., closing virtually, staggering signings) to keep the deal on track. He let results speak and didn’t waste time trying to change hearts in the middle of negotiations. The takeaway is practical: identify your headwinds, design around them, and keep moving.

The grind, the gap, and not burning out

Did he love every minute? No. He loved progress. He talks about being “addicted to the hustle” as a teenager and, later, about learning to enjoy the process—not just the wire at the end. He’s frank about seasons that flirted with burnout and about recalibrating mindset so the business doesn’t eat the person running it. Momentum, he says, is built by moving, not by waiting for the perfect plan.

Gen Z and homeownership: a shifting lens

As a Gen Z investor, Coleman sees a generational shift: homeownership isn’t the uncontested “American dream” priority it once was. But people still need a place to live—apartment, duplex, single-family, you name it. He himself rents the home he lives in through creative company structures rather than personally owning it. The point isn’t to reject owning; it’s to choose the right vehicle for your goals and responsibilities. Investment real estate, in his view, still pencils—depreciation, options for creative finance, and the evergreen need for shelter.

From wholesales to short-term rentals to luxury new builds

After mastering deal-finding, Coleman started keeping properties: traditional rentals first, then short-term rentals in 2020. Today, he’s pivoting toward luxury new construction projects led by “perfection before profit.” Think elevators, theater rooms, whole-home audio, and a design sensibility inspired by European clean lines and LA polish. He recently raised about $1.5 million to tear down a single-family home and build to that vision, betting on Greenville’s continued growth and on the resilience of the luxury segment, where many buyers pay cash and care more about fit than rates.

Building a team built for sourcing and quality

Coleman’s company runs with 10 virtual assistants across Colombia and the Philippines, focused on outbound—cold calls, texts, and consistent deal flow—plus local operations help to keep larger builds on track. He doesn’t outsource the creative direction: he’s particular about fixtures, cabinetry, and the details that turn a house into a signature product. The “do one thing well” principle still shows up—master the hardest step (finding great deals), then everything else becomes optional.

Parenting, kids, and “teaching hustle”

If a parent wants their child involved in the family business, Coleman’s advice is counterintuitive: you can’t teach drive; you can only create conditions where it’s discovered. Give opportunities, not guarantees. Let kids try the work (even if they dislike it), so they learn what they don’t want—and make them earn what they do want. The muscle they need most is internal.

A note to his 15-year-old self

“Stop second-guessing. Move fast.” He’d tell teenage Willie to act with urgency, make mistakes, “fail forward,” and trust that momentum is a better teacher than fear.

How to contact Willie Coleman

Interested in deals, building, or just comparing notes? Willie invited listeners to connect on Instagram: @Willie.Coleman (send him a DM).

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Bottom Line

Willie Coleman’s path maps what’s possible when curiosity meets consistent action. He started by salvaging parts, learned to value what others overlooked, and then scaled that instinct—from wholesale spreads to Airbnbs to high-finish new builds. Along the way, he confronted bias, outworked headwinds, and doubled down on the few levers that move everything else: find real deals, serve people with specifics, and keep evolving. For anyone considering real estate investing in their teen years and early 20s, his blueprint is simple and demanding: pick a lane, add real value, adapt to reality, and build momentum faster than your doubts.

Ien Araneta

Journal & Podcast Editor | Selling Greenville