Starting out in New Hampshire and Massachusetts

[Michael Jakubowski]

My name is Michael and I am looking to return to real estate. I live in New Hampshire, (a bit north of Concord), and work in Lexington Massachusetts, 70 miles one way. Regardless to say, the commute is killing me. That said, I am willing to travel for a deal, especially if I am working for myself. I dipped my toes in real estate investing when I bought a 3 family in Manchester in 2008. After a few years I got my real estate license to sell that and buy a home for me and my wife (my philosophy was why pay someone else to sell and buy when I could get paid doing it). Regrettably, I let my license lapse. I am considering getting it back.

I am getting very burned out with my job and the associated commute and I have decided fully commit to real estate investing. I know it’ll be a while before I can quit my job, but I know this is the right direction. I am reading and listening to everything I can get my hands on. That said, I have always suffered from “analysis paralysis” and been more of an observer. I’d like to go outside my comfort zone to get a few deals done, whatever they may be to build the confidence. I do not currently have a ton of liquid cash, but I would be willing to take out a loan from my meager 401K to finance a deal if necessary. I do have a bit of information overload at the moment. So I was wondering, hypothetically what would you do as a 40+ year newbie investor in my area (NH or MA) with very limited funds to get the ball rolling? Are there any investors in my area who would be willing to sit down for lunch or dinner (I’m buying) to allow me to pick their brain? Are there any investors in my area that need help on any aspects of their projects that I may work on?

Thank you in advance,

Michael