A tax refund in 2009 changed this single mother’s life forever. After banks refused to give her a loan and without any credit cards to finance her dreams, Detroit-based waitress Ashley Hamilton, decided to use her tax refund to begin her real estate journey, reports Black Enterprise. Each year since 2009, she used cash to purchase single-family properties in Detroit to rehab, before ultimately using the properties as buy and hold rentals. Her initial plan was to secure one property every year with her annual tax refunds, but instead, she was able to expand her portfolio building dream by saving the rent she collected from tenants and was finally able to gain access to loans. “Not having money worked for my benefit,” said Hamilton during an appearance on the BiggerPockets podcast. “I got a tax return at the end of the year. By me only making around $20K and having two kids, I was able to get a $5K-$6K refund.” She also has Detroit’s real estate market — which had a low entry point at...