First year as part of the bigger pockets community. What Changed?

[Sawyer Smith]

Last April I was working in land development as a plumber/ditch hand. I was working 10+ hour days knee-deep in mud, and doing a job in which I had no interest. For years I had been thinking and trying to plan a business that would allow me to focus on spending time with family and building wealth for the future. I pursued several options from starting an outdoor retail store to opening a rock climbing gym. Each industry I researched turned out to be more of a gamble than an investment. One afternoon while I was working, my dad sent me a link to bigger pockets episode 320 with Britany Arnason. I listened to the episode three times over that afternoon, and constantly was pausing to google words like refinancing, comps, and line of credit. I literally knew nothing about real estate investing. After that first episode, all I listened to while working was the Bigger Pockets Podcast and the books recommended in those podcasts. I became obsessed with learning everything I could about real estate investing. I made a goal to learn everything I possibly could in the next few months and close on our first property before summer ended. April and May were devoted to reading and learning about my market, in June I found a solid realtor, and in July I closed on our first house. August was spent rehabbing our property and by the first week in September, we had our first tenant. I took the information from that deal to my dad who I knew was already investing in some real estate across the country. When he saw our market and the numbers on how our first BRRR deal went, he became very interested and we came up with a game plan to start a Buy and Hold Realestate Investment Company. And Thus, Bluehaven Homes LLC was born. One year after I listened to that episode with Brittney and we have closed on our 15th house, we have 7 homes fully rehabbed and refinanced and rented. The company consists of my dad, my little brother who is super organized and runs the books for us, a rehab project manager, and myself as manager and head of acquisitions. I have made plenty of mistakes over the last year, but have learned more than I ever thought possible. I love what I do every day, I have the freedom to spend time with my wife and two boys, and I have a real purpose and passion for my work every day. Thank you Bigger Pockets for helping me to have the ability to live a life I never would have thought possible.