New investor - Raleigh, Triangle, Triad North Carolina

[Pete Bhairgond]

Hello BP friends,

Great site.. I love it so far :). Sorry for the long email but I feel putting one-liner general email is not very helpful to me or other here.

About me	Newbie investor in RTP/Raleigh, North Carolina area. I have purchased my first property towards end of last year. It's an end unit town home.
Real Estate Goals	Build my real estate portfolio: 1. Buy-hold-rent properties (Expand from current Single townhome unit to multi family units) 2. Wholesaling business 3. Build local and regional portfolio and then expand outwards
First investment	Comfortable with the 'Buy-hold-rent', cash-flow approach. First property is in the books.
What am I doing now	Attending couple of 'free' sessions locally but BP site is just crazy good and flood of information that will keep me busy for a few days. I have just joined local REI club (Triangle Real Estate Investors Association). Will start joining their sessions
Upcoming focus	Upcoming focus
LLC formation	I put my first property in my personal name, however reading through forum here, looks like LLC is better approach to protect my personal assets, also keeping future expansion in mind
Financing	I may have put little more than needed (25%) in first property so am a little tight on new cash reserves. Looking for recommendations on how to generate cash for downpayment for next properties 1. I have a primary home (currently have close to $160K in equity). Is HELOC worth the risk? 2. First investment property (60% outstanding mortage - $70K in equity) 3. Roth IRA investments funds
Networking	Other than local REI club, what are other venues to network and build local network?