1 min read
Sources:
press and public records, Kevin's account, his own videos
["default","default","lime"]
Short answer
At a Red Robin in Ventura. His girlfriend Lauren was getting her real estate license, so he got one too, in 2010 at 18, after a manager told him to be patient and wait for a server job. He wrote offers through the 2011 double-dip recession fears, bought a fixer in February 2012 with an FHA 203k loan, and built a commission business from $35,000 in year one to over $500,000 in 2015 without a team. 12
Licensed: 2010 (age 18, California)
Year one: $35,000+ (commissions, by his account)
2015: $500,000+ (in a single year, no team)
The record
Kevin was licensed as a California real estate agent in 2010, at 18, and became a broker about two years later. By 2015 one profile ranked him among the top three agents in Ventura County, and by May 2021 he and Lauren owned 22 properties. 1
Kevin’s account
Kevin’s account
After Jamba Juice I moved to Red Robin, going from host to busboy to expediter. I never made server, and I credit not becoming a server as the thing that let me dive straight into real estate. Lauren was getting her real estate license, so I figured, why not join her. The turning point was table 10 at the Red Robin in the Pacific View Mall. My manager told me: you have it good here, you are on the calendar three times next week, you are making $900 a month, just be patient. I drew the line in the sand and went all-in on real estate, despite him saying I would not make money in it. 2
The numbers he gives
Over $35,000 in commissions the first year, over $55,000 the second, over $150,000 the third, and over $500,000 in 2015, without a team. His branding was the No-Pressure Agent, a reaction to the high-pressure salespeople he had watched. These are his figures; the 2015 ranking is a profile’s. 12
What carried over
The company’s whole approach, buy a fixer below market and improve it, is the first house repeated 38 times with other people’s capital and no bank loan.
In his own videos
December 2019: over $600,000 a year by 2015, from a start at 18 with zero experience. 3
Same video: the No-Pressure Agent slogan was on his Prius from the beginning, and on his Tesla later. 4
In his own videos
He chose a real estate license over a serving job at a Red Robin in 2010 and never went back. 2
Simply put
✅ The moment
➡️ He worked host, busboy and expediter at Red Robin and never got promoted to server.
➡️ His manager told him to be patient. He got a real estate license instead.
✅ The climb
➡️ Wrote offers in 2011 when everyone said real estate was dead.
➡️ Bought a wreck in 2012 and fixed it.
➡️ Commissions doubled and tripled each year until he was making over $500,000 in 2015.
Sources
Wikipedia, Kevin Paffrath (license 2010; broker; 22 properties by 2021), Open
Kevin's account, Jamba Juice, Red Robin, and the $305,000 house: “I drew the line in the sand and went all-in on real estate, despite him saying I wouldn't make money in it.” Read the excerpt
Kevin on YouTube, "How I Built 9 Income Sources That Make $159,233 Per Month" (2019-12-02), at 2:55: “I started in real estate sales at 18 years old with zero experience and zero knowledge, by 2015, four years ago, I'm 27 now, I was making over $600,000 a year” Watch from 2:55
Kevin on YouTube, "How I Built 9 Income Sources That Make $159,233 Per Month" (2019-12-02), at 3:42: “when I started in the business I wrapped my Prius with the slogan Meet Kevin the trademarked no-pressure agent” Watch from 3:42
Kevin on YouTube, "$0 Net Worth to Retired Rich in 9 Years." (2020-01-13), at 0:00: “$0 Net Worth to Retired Rich in 9 Years.” Watch from 0:00
Kevin on YouTube, "Millionaire by 24." (2018-05-08), at 0:00: “Millionaire by 24.” Watch from 0:00
