After falling behind on retirement savings, a Gen-Xer turned to real estate. He explains how he built a 7-figure portfolio starting with $15,000.

Brannon Potts owns a mixture of single-family and multi-family properties.

He builds and designs each of his rentals.

Brannon Potts Brannon Potts uses a build-to-rent strategy to create cash flow from rental properties.

He got started in 2020 with $15,000, enough for the down payment and closing costs on three lots.

Today, he estimates his 14 properties are worth about $3.5 million based on appraisals.

In his late 40s, Brannon Potts realized he was behind on retirement savings.

Looking for another source of income, he turned to something he already enjoyed: building from scratch.

"I love building — to be able to put my fingerprint on a property," Potts, who grew up in a home his parents built in Fort Worth, Texas, told Business Insider.

In 2020, he started using what he calls a " build-to-rent " strategy: buying land, constructing rental properties, and holding them for cash flow.

Potts said he started with about $15,000 of his own money, which covered the down payment and closing costs on three lots.

Today, he owns 14 rental units across eight properties, which he estimates are worth about $3.5 million based on appraisals.

That growth didn't happen without debt.

Potts financed construction, and the $3.5 million figure represents the estimated value of the properties, not his equity — though he said the portfolio currently has more than $1 million in equity.

The key, he said, was creating equity during construction by building properties that appraised for more than they cost him to complete.