Ben Mallah is a real estate mogul who now owns around $250 million of real estate and never even finished high school! He started from scratch and made all his dreams come true. Is it possible? How did he do that? Let’s find out today!
Childhood problems
“My life was horrible. My childhood was the worst you could ever imagine. I was a child growing up with a horrible crazy lunatic mother in the worst neighborhoods of New York. Everything my parents did, I’m the opposite”, that’s what Ben says in one of his interviews.
Ben was born on October 29, 1965, in Queens, New York. His family wasn’t the richest, not even close. He says that they lived in a bungalow that was only supposed to host people in the summer. However, according to Ben, his father couldn’t afford anything better.
Living among criminals and “the worst element of society”, Mallah knew that he would never return to such a lifestyle. He became an adult mentally when he was only a kid. Since his mother used to beat him, he told himself to never touch his own children.
The most important lesson that Ben learned from his parents is to work hard and pursue the best life possible. That’s why his biggest dream was to make a fortune and to live in the best house out there. Spoiler alert – that’s exactly what he did!
Walking down Manhattan, young Ben couldn’t help but dream about staying in one of those luxury apartments. A fun fact – when he made enough money to live in Manhattan, Ben didn’t want it anymore. “This place is a dump!”
At some point in his life, Ben went to the army. When he returned home, he started looking for a decent job. That’s how he found a place in a real estate company and that’s where the magic began!
First steps into business
“When you do have money, the money gives you power. I don’t answer to anybody. That’s why I’m able to compete with all the big shots in Chicago, New York, etc. …I can put my money where my mouth is”, says Ban about the benefits of being rich.
Mallah found his passion in real estate. He realized that this sphere was full of perspectives and opportunities and threw himself into it. The best thing about real estate for Ben was that you don’t need education and much money to start.
Ben started with buying houses that nobody wanted – “crackhouses”. They cost him around 20-30 thousand dollars back in the ‘70s-‘80s. He rebuilt these houses, fixed them, and did everything he could to make them look appealing. After that, Mallah resold them to people at a 20% higher price.
This way he made around $4-6 thousand in profit on 1 house and saved this money. The next thing he did was refinancing to other buildings like that and continued doing what he did.
What kind of house can be sold for 20-30 grand? This must be a place with a nice solid foundation and a roof. Sometimes, there can be holes in it but you need to make sure you can fix them. Other things are up to you. Ben says that most often he used to paint the walls, replace doors, windows, and things like that.
Ben reveals the secret of his success. He says that good terms and good timing work better than more money. Mallah has done it many times when he got to close the deal but the seller was in doubt whether to sell the house for Ben or some other guy who pays more.
Another thing to remember not only about real estate but any other thing you’re aiming to succeed at is to live this thing. You have to make your job your life and only then you can become the best in your sphere. Doing the business as a side activity will never make you big money.
Some inspiration for you from Ben: “I would paint apartments and stay up all night getting a place ready because I had an inspection the next day. You got to cross the line in life. If you really want to make it, ain’t got a bunch of money, and wasn’t born rich, you got to go where nobody else wants to go, you got to work the hours when nobody else wants it”.
How I met my wife
Karla Mallah, the wife of Ben, was only 13 when they first met. He was 34 at that time. It makes her 34 now, while he is 54. The 20 years difference, how about that? But, this is still not the most interesting part of their story.
Ben saved Karla from poverty. She’s been living with her grandparents without hot water in a criminal neighborhood in California. When she was just a little girl aged 13, Mallah came to help. He hired her grandfather to work as Ben’s maintenance manager and helped Karla’s family to move to a safer place.
When the girl turned 18, they got married. Now, they have two kids together and are happy in marriage. Ben jokes about their marriage on Twitter: “My wife was worth 250k tax free the day I married her. On the other hand I’ve been paying ever since”.
They have two lions in their house that represent the two of them. Also, Mallah says that Karla loves good wine. They have a wine room in their family mansion which Ben calls a cry room since every time his wife fills those wine shelves up, he cries over the bill.
What is he up to now?
“Once I got the nicest house and the nicest car, I’m pretty much done. I can retire now. I made it to the top level that I feel I wanted to be on and I’m done. My kids can try to climb the ladder too”, Ben comments on his status now.
Now, Ben, along with his wife and two kids, lives in a huge mansion worth $16,5 million. More than 11,000 square foot is what they use for two! He says that the person who built his house had to knock down 3 houses and used top-notch construction.
Mallah believes that you only live once and if you work hard, you should enjoy your money. He says that if you don’t live up to your means and provide the best life possible for your family, what’s the point of making a bunch of money then?
Where could you find him on social media?
First off, you should check out his YouTube channel called Ben Mallah. There, he teaches people how to buy, rebuild, and resell real estate and talks about his life. Another social network that Ben loves to use is Twitter (@ben_mallah). He’s got almost 9,000 followers there.
His Instagram is another place-to-go if you’re interested in what it’s like to be Ben. His account name is @realbenmallah and he has almost 6,300 subscribers there. Ben posts photos of him, him with his wife, food, perfect ocean views from his gorgeous mansion, and many more. His wife Karla also has a page on Instagram called @kmallah1_.
