New to Bigger Pockets

[Stephen E Drew]

Hello everyone! My name is Stephen Drew and I am a 29 year old father who is here to learn and grow with all of you smart people.  A goal of mine is to be financially independent by 35 so that I can be there for my daughter and future family at any time. 

This will be my first post of many because I want to be active in this community and I want to be successful in this field of business. I'd like to share my history within real estate and then express my goals for the short/longterm. 

I read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" when I was 18 years old. I met my best friend right around that time and we both got hooked on the idea of owning property. There was a "Rich Dad Poor Dad" game online that you could play and it was essentially monopoly with great lessons on what happens when you keep creating more income through RE. With that game, Bigger Pockets podcasts, and lots of research, I found my first property in Albany, NY. It was a 3-unit building that I bought for $211K in 2018. I used an FHA loan and lived in one of the units for free. A beautiful house-hack situation. Once I moved out, the property made me $1,014/mo in income. I sold this property in Feb, 2022 and closed on a different 3-unit building in Schenectady, NY. I profited $58K on the sale and I used a 1031-Exchange to withhold on capital gains, and put all $58k into the new property. I offered $250K for the new property and its in a perfect location for us and I couldn't be happier with that. After I renovate my 3rd floor unit, I will owe $50 towards my mortgage payment which is very helpful for me in these times. This renovation is going to be costly for me though, so I am going to do it fast so that I can get it rented in a timely manner.

As the world has changed in the past couple of years, I am finding it difficult to save any money. I am a Carpenter in Local 291, and I have been doing this for 9 years now. I am quite good at my craft, and I hope to merge my current job with my future business in some way. But, working as a carpenter isn't paying the bills and I am going to buy assets to change my financial situation. 

I listened to Bigger Pockets episode #247 today and the conversation was about setting a goal In the final quarter of the year, and that's what I am here to do. My goal for this last quarter of 2022 is to profit $25K from a real estate transaction. Ideally, in my mind from what I have learned in my studies, it would be a great wholesale (or possibly a sub-to?! *i don't know how these work yet but I KNOW they are important*) . I need to find a great home, in a good area, that needs work, and the numbers run well.! I'll find it.  

See, I don't know the answer to how to reach that goal; but I promise that I am going to work and find it out.

To everyone here already who has succeed in your own ways, I look up to you. I hope to chat and talk to someone soon. 

Cheers, Stephen Drew