Mum, 34, went from sleeping on floor to owning £1.59m real estate portfolio

A woman has shared how she went from living in a home with no electricity to becoming a millionaire.

Yamundow Camara, 34, from Atlanta, Georgia, grew up in a village in Gambia, West Africa and moved to the US with a fellowship in 2016.

Thanks to teaching herself how to invest in real estate, the data scientist has built up a portfolio of houses worth more than $2million (£1.59million) since 2016.

Her homes bring in money due to being rented through 12-month lease holders and short-term renters.

Speaking to MarketWatch, Ms Camara shared how she began her real estate career and went on to make millions.

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She explained: “I am a buy-and-hold investor. What that means is I buy rental properties, distressed properties, fix them up and rent them out to travel nurses, short term rentals, Airbnb, and also regular rentals.

“I didn’t have any money as a graduate student. I had $8000 (£6,397.52) saved up within the couple of months that I was working.”

With a less-than-ideal credit score, Ms Camra called up all the local banks in her area to see if she could get a loan.

After presenting her real estate plans to the bank, they gave her the green light and helped her begin the real estate portfolio.

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She purchased her first property for $52,000 (£41,516.80) and received Covid-19 relief as a landlord to cover maintenance costs.

Since 2020, the property has been profitable with a steady cash flow coming in from various renters.

Based on financial records seen by Marketwatch, Ms Camara’s entire portfolio generates tens of thousands of dollars a month in rental revenue.

As it stands, the real estate mogul’s rent roll suggests the potential for nearly $80,000 (£63,872) a month in gross rent.

With her success, the entrepreneur has founded a mentorship program to teach people how to invest properly in real estate.

The multi-homeowner has come a long way since her humble beginnings in Gambia, with her mum dying when she was around two years old.

After her father passed away, her married sister took Ms Camra into her home to live with her husband’s extended family.

She said: “I was sleeping on the floor. I would get up, and kill the bedbugs, sometimes the mosquitoes got unbearable.

“I would sit down and say, ‘We’re gonna have a nice, big house and we’re gonna have this many beds.”