Hello Bigger Pockets, please say hi to our new Student Justin

[Justin Lacsamana]

Hello Bigger Pockets Family!

I'm Justin and I am a San Diego native, born and raised in sunny San Diego. I've never really thought to be financially responsible and kind of just worked and pay bills. But I recently came across a great opportunity where I got to start my own business and make money in the 6 figures for the past year and a half. 

I'm one of those people that never made money before, and fell victim to lifestyle creep with the more money I made. Made some decent money and realized I have nothing to show for it. I have immigrant parents that know I'm making money and ask me to help them out, and I couldn't even do that as much as I would like. 

That's so embarrassing. So I knew I had to make a change. I knew I wanted to be smarter with my money. So last year, I go on youtube to find out more about financial literacy and came across channels like Graham Stephan and of course Bigger Pockets. I am so hooked on learning real estate strategies that can give you back money and time. Everything from the BRRRR strategy, house hacking, airbnb, etc etc.

So many directions to go with real estate. I know I need to get very specific about what I want to do and just go for it. I want to buy small multifamily, live in one unit and rent out the rest. And then move out after 6 months to a year to rent out the unit I've been occupying. I talked to a couple real estate agents already, and a couple of lenders, and I went to check out a couple of properties to just get the train moving. I'm okay with not cash flowing right away as long as there's cash flow in a couple of years and appreciation.

But the challenge I'm facing is that I haven't had my business for 2 full years yet. And also, even though I'm making $10,000+ a month take home with my business, I never saved a lot of that because I never thought about being smart with my money until recently. So it looks bad in the eyes of lenders. 

So as I continue learning from bigger pockets and looking for mentors, do I just have to wait and make things look better before I can start investing? 

Also, lets meet up San Diego! Lets get a beer and talk real estate.