Janina Ellen Sari has German and Turkish roots. Growing up with her single mother in a troubled district of Hamburg, investing was never an issue during her childhood and youth, she says.
Despite this, Sari now owns over 300 properties. However, she is not a full-time investor, but in a management position at a real estate start-up.
The 33-year-old spoke to Business Insider about how she did it. Editor Alexandra Habdank took down Sari’s statements.
Money was not instilled in me. On the contrary: My mother was a single parent with two daughters and we lived in a troubled part of Hamburg. I went to high school and got bad grades. Neither my teachers nor my classmates believed in me back then. They thought: ‘Janina will be at the checkout somewhere at some point.’
At that time I already had the desire to own my own home and to travel. After graduating, I actually wanted to join the army, but that didn’t work out for health reasons. Instead, I did an apprenticeship as an insurance clerk finance.
I bought my first property when I was 21
I didn’t like the insurance, but the financial advice was really good. I started my career at one of the largest German loan brokers. After a few years, I was one of the top five sales people with over 1,000 consultants. Even then I realized: My topic is that property.