Looking for Help Entering Real Estate

[Gregory Tam]

Hello Bigger Pockets Forums,

This is my first post to bigger pockets so please bear with me. I’ll start with a quick introduction.

My name is Gregory Tam and I am a 23 year old recent college graduate. During my time in college I made some lucky investments in bitcoin and marijuana stocks. While I was very tempted to spend my earnings, I vowed to myself that I would not touch a penny of profit until I finished my education, graduated, and put a great deal of research into how to invest this money. I graduated this past May with a dual degree in bioengineering and applied math and statistics. After taxes and paying off all debt (student loans, family house, etc) this leaves me with about $800,000. I currently have a job that pays about $50,000 a year though for where I live (NYC) that is relatively low (but it is only a first job).

I want to be moderately aggressive given my age, with my goal of producing enough passive income through rentals so I can eventually quit my job. My target areas are Atlanta, Las Vegas, Houston, Austin, And Orlando. My strategy is to acquire rentals in these areas until the market crashes, then start buying in the major markets (LA, NYC). Because I don’t want to invest 100% of the $800,000 in real estate, I am thinking of keeping:

10% ($80,000) in savings

10% ($80,000) in bonds

30% ($240,000) with financial institutions to invest in mutual funds, index funds, and stocks, 

And the remaining 50% ($400,000) in real estate.

My goal is to allocate $200,000 of this $400,000 to acquire a combination of SFR, BRRRR properties and possibly duplex/triplexes throughout the next year or two. This leaves me with $200,000 of cash cushion in the case of unexpected expenses, vacancies, etc and allows me to reassess after my initial acquisition period is over.

My first question is does this distribution of money make sense? I’m not sure if I’m in way over my head as I just recently graduated and my education had nothing to do with real estate. I am not in any rush to purchase a property as I still am searching for the correct team to surround myself with. 

My second question is how would you recommend I find the proper team if I’m looking to invest in areas so far from me (I’ve seen David Green’s podcast in which he reccomends word of mouth but I do not know many other real estate investors yet.)

Finally, I’m just looking for general advice. Like I said, I am in no rush to purchase a property and would like to properly educate myself first.

Sorry for the super long post, and I appreciate any and all help!