My First Bigger Pockets Post! Tell Me More About Massachusetts

[Joseph Cammarata]

Hello! I'm Joey and this is my first post on the forums. Been binging the BP podcast on my rides to work each morning and just finished my notes on The Book on Rental Property Investing. 

Here's a little bit about me: I'm going into my senior year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and majoring in Psychology while minoring in business at the Isenberg School of Management. I'm a the treasurer for the Psychology Honors society, a teaching assistant for Abnormal Psychology, and a substitute teacher/after school tutor at a nearby high school. Down the line, I hope to obtain my Masters in Social Work. I also enjoy basketball, lifting weights, and reading. 

My Question: One of my newest passions is real estate, and I'd like to do whatever I can to put others and myself in a position to succeed. I've started by practicing analyzing properties in my area (central mass) on my own. I'm about to put together my own excel spreadsheet with the most important criteria for analyzing properties. There are some expenses I've been trying to calculate (like property management, repairs, capex) that I'm not exactly sure are the same in Massachusetts as in other places. I'd love to hear what everyone has to offer in terms of their process on evaluating properties (I've also only been looking on Zillow). What are the most important things you look for in our market?

I'm looking to close in on my first deal sometime next year as I transition to graduate school and keep it rolling from there. Wish me luck and let me know what you guys think.

-Joey

[Kyle Curtin]

Hi Joseph! 

Welcome to BiggerPockets and the world of REI! You are in a phenomenal position, especially discovering this passion while still in college. You are already well on your real estate journey listening to podcasts, reading a gamechanging BP book, & looking to connect with other investors! That is very exciting and you should be very proud of your progress so far! My advice is to keep doing what you are doing and keep learning and also start to go to real estate investing meetups when you have time. Our team hosts several monthly events around Massachusetts and one in NH. I lead the Gardner location, assist with the Worcester location, and regularly attend the others. The relationships that you will create at meetups and the value that is regularly exchanged is absolutely out of this world and will likely change your life (it has for me more times then I can count!) especially when you are first beginning. Most of the folks in our industry are 100% willing to help each other and we all succeed together, and it is extremely wholesome to be able to help each other grow towards our vision!

I purchased my first 3 family Househack in North Leominster last year with FHA financing and currently in the process of stabilizing it and leveraging some equity that has built up in the past year to start to look for the second project in the near future.

In addition to being an investor, I am also an investor focused agent in Worcester county & Middlesex county and would love to hop on a call or go for coffee and hear more about your story!

Thank you so much!

Kyle