Hello from Central New Jersey

[Mark Houghton]

Would like to start off by thanking everyone one BP who has contributed and currently contributes to the success of this forum. I've been scanning BP for sometime now and have learned a tremendous amount about real estate investing which has left me with many questions.

I'm a 24 year old college graduate who is passionate about real estate. After graduating from college and in the hunt for a job I decided to use my spare time to fulfill one of my life long dreams - obtain a real estate license. After a few months of classes and two attempts at the exam I managed to pass and now have my New Jersey Real Estate License. This being the case I do have a general understanding of real estate, but obviously no where near the experience or expertise to get started (or so I think).

I currently work as a healthcare administration professional and with all the impending changes to the healthcare system day to day operation is a nightmare. My ultimate goal is to be able to leave my current job in no more than 6 months. I would like to purchase my first property in the coming months and have never been more excited to start any project in my life. However, even after spending hours upon hours each day sifting and reading through all the BP threads and articles I still find myself unsure about how/where to start.

A little about my financial history. With having a college degree generally comes loans, and unfortunately I'm no exception to this rule. I have a large sum of outstanding debt that is the equivalent to paying rent for a decent sized apartment each month. With having said that I do have a DECENT paying job - not bad, not good either (as in most Americans case) - but it does bring money in to cover the bills and save a couple bucks at the end of each month. I have managed to save just upwards of $20,000 to invest. But where to invest it is my main question. I know what I want to do, fix and flip. At least to begin with.

I'm not here looking for answers, but I am here to learn as much as I possibly can before I take the plunge and chase my dreams. Of course, family and friends generally think I'm being overly ambitious and tell me my goals are nothing but dreams. This serves as motivation for me as I don't like being told I can't do something. I'm completely open to holding phone conferences, meeting face-to-face, or emailing others in the industry whether it be to help someone else if possible, to make a new contact, or simply to listen to someone else's plan taking away any knowledge I can. I can guarantee I will continue reading all of your threads and very much look forward to it. I hope to contribute positively to this forum especially as my knowledge and experience grow. Thanks for reading my story!