Andreas Ortner

My name is Andreas, and I came to the United States in 2015 from Germany, drawn to the warm temperatures and relaxed lifestyle that so many others of you have also been attracted to in the Fort Myers and Naples area. Since then, I’ve worked for several well-known builders, such as Ashton Woods, Taylor Morrison, and Neal Communities. This experience has deepened my understanding of the new home construction sector.

One of the first goals was to buy a home, despite some people telling me to wait. I understood that the demand for homes would only continue to increase, and I knew I needed to get a foot in the door. I recall that when I graduated from college and got my first job, I asked myself what my first investment would be. My first purchase was a condo that I bought for $50,000 when I was 24 years old. I was amazed that my monthly mortgage payments were less than what I would have had to pay for rent. It wasn’t anything special, but I did a lot of renovations myself since I couldn’t afford to hire a professional. This experience taught me a lot, and it was a lot of fun. Before I moved to the US, I sold that same condo for $150,000, which gave me the confidence to take the big step of moving to the US.

I’ve always been a big advocate of promoting financial independence, and I firmly believe there is no easier way to create equity than through real estate. Where else can you get cheaper leverage for your money? I wish this type of education was more widely available in schools, and now I aim to share this message with as many people as possible to help them reach financial independence more easily.

As a final anecdote, I’ll share that when I first moved here, I was so excited to have a swimming pool that I would jump in fully clothed. My neighbors must have thought I was crazy, but I couldn’t help myself- I was just so excited to have that piece of the Florida lifestyle finally!