Newbie (sort of) from Long Island/NYC area

[Jeff Neckonoff]

Hi everyone. I've been lurking on this site for a few months, as I attempt to weed out the scammers out there from the legit investors.

This page is great.

My goal is to flip, after rehabbing distressed properties.

I am a small business owner, not your normal small business as I own and operate a DJ company in the NY tri-state area. I graduated Baruch College in 1988 with a Bachelor of Business Administration. The economy in 1988 was similar to what we have now, with companies like IBM laying off 40,000 employees at a time. I decided then that I would never become a slave to corporate America as I would never allow a company to simply fire me after giving them 20+ years of loyalty and hard work.
Many of my friends and acquaintances have told me that my decision to follow my path was prophetic.

So yes I am an educated DJ!

I'm a big kid, almost 48 years old, who feels more like 25 years old.
I entertain mostly at young teen events. My job is to motivate, energize and engage 40 - 150 of these teens at a time.
My Monday-Friday schedule is pretty open as I can schedule my crews and send out contracts when simply feel like it.

I joined a gym one year ago for the first time since the 80s and have learned about setting personal goals, discipline and how getting the results I'm seeing truly motivates me to go even further. I plan on using this mindset to succeed in real estate investing as well.

I now am at that stage in my life where old age is on the horizon and I need to make and bank a decent amount of money.

I believe that real estate is the best way for your average person to achieve the goals I am aiming for.

I bought an investment property in 1988 and had a horrible experience with tenants not paying rent.

While I am now interested in getting back into R.E. investing, I never, ever will do anything that involves tenants! I truly believe that tenants who can afford to pay their rent but who simply refuse not to should be put in a stockade!

I bought my first primary residence in 1997, sold it in 2009 and bought a bigger place in 2010.

This past Summer, I invested $22K with my SEP IRA LLC with a 30-year-old company in Chicago that is buying distressed properties, rehabbing them and then selling them, using anywhere from 2 - 6 partners investors to fund each project.

My first investment home was just finished two weeks ago and there were six showings as of Friday.

The profit is less as opposed to doing it myself as the company is handling all the details. But my goal with them is to do 3 - 4 deals this year, making 15% on my investments.

[John Moore]

Welcome to the BP family. It appears you have your act together. Getting 15% on a passive investment is excellent. I would not rock the boat, sit back and enjoy the music. Again welcome aboard.

[Jeff Neckonoff]

Thanks John!

[Paul Timmins]

@Jeff Neckonoff

Welcome. When you get ready to do your local deals go to IREM.org search for ARM certified call several select the one you like. You may have already reviewed the resources below.

Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere

Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.

Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having 50 past ones to catch up on.

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses,The Book on Estimating ReHab Costshttp://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info.

Good luck

Paul

[Mike B.]

Congrats Jeff, welcome to the board!

[Jeff Neckonoff]

Thanks everyone.

[J. Martin]

Hi Jeff N , and welcome to BP! I'm a "fix and hold" investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! But you'll find a variety of every type of investor on the site, and everyone is amazingly helpful. Some pointers for you: The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and so do BP members! You can click on the "vote" button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are "awards" to earn on your profile. And you can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name at the bottom of the message box. Welcome to the site, and good luck in everything!

[Joe Fairless]

@Jeff Neckonoff - welcome to BP from a fellow NYCer! Sounds like you've got some big plans ahead of you!