Game developer and aspiring investor in West L.A.

[Lee Davis]

Hello Bigger Pockets members! I am a video game developer at a studio in Santa Monica. I discovered the B.P. podcast recently and I'm quickly burning through the archives while I am at work. This podcast/community seems exactly like what I've been looking for.

My grandfather, back in my hometown in Vero Beach, Fl., started as an agent, then a contractor, then an apartment building, acquisition, and management company operating in the mid-west for decades. I have been mulling this over for years now, but I really want this to be the year I enter the market as I finally have a little cash to work with. I am unsure what the best route to take is.

I'm sure a lot of you in California and elsewhere can really feel my pain when it comes to being taxed on earned income. There's really no better way it seems, than owning real estate from a tax shelter perspective. My company has done really well this past year, and I have absolutely no deductions as I'm an single renter. I've looked over the balance sheets of my grandad's properties and the accumulated depreciation lines are extremely attractive to me. I am surrounded by young professionals in the same position as I am, and I have a dream of becoming a band of game developing real estate owners who can protect some their wealth.

That said, I know I'm swimming upstream with sharks in this market, but it's where I live and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

[Lee Davis]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! I am about half-way through the ebook and it's a great, straight to the point read.

Mehran, I've been in the industry for about 10 years, so haven't worked anything I think people would consider oldschool, but you might have heard of the last game I worked on, it's called "The Last of Us".

Jeff, thanks for the suggestion, I'm going to try and make that meeting. I'm leaning towards owner/occupied somewhere within driving distance of Santa Monica to start out with, but I could see venturing out of California. I have a ton of family in Florida and go there often, so that could be a possibility.

The podcasts are continuing to be enlightening. Probably going to be completely through the archives within a week.