New from Pittsburgh, PA

[Jay M.]

Hi BP community; long-time reader and finally decided I was crazy for not joining sooner.

I live in Pittsburgh and have been active in RE for two years. I'm a buy and hold investor, though I am considering other RE strategies too. I own two rentals; currently living in one of them while I complete major renovations.

I was advised by members of a local REA that I should not do the reno myself, but I followed my gut (despite being fairly conservative) and have learned a lot about construction, design, and now have some experience working with contractors. I'm nearly finished and am looking forward to putting together the other parts of my business.

The reno really slowed me down though so I'd like to expand, maybe double in size, in 2014. I'm here to learn, share and meet new people. My goal is to retire early from my day job, and I'm pleased to be here.

Jay

[Darren Sager]

Welcome to BP @Jay M. ! Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself. I think a great way to begin using BP is to read the Bigger Pockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing as Josh and Brandon did a great job with it.And now that you're here we'd love to see you be an active member of the BP community so be sure to set up Keywords Alerts for your local area such as "Pittburgh" or "duplex" if you're looking to find potential opportunities for investing, education in a subject, or other members in your area. Use the Find Members area to network with other members who are local to you or are in an area you're wanting to invest in. Podcasts come out weekly and are great way to learn on the move. I find there's always a gold nuggets of information in each one and I go back to listen to a number of them multiple times.

If you appreciate a post that a fellow member put up responding to you be sure to say "Thank You!" by casting a vote for it.If you think a response you read is good or answers another member's question well cast a vote for it.It's our own version of liking something on Facebook provided you're familiar with that. Simply click the box in the upper right corner of the post!

If you want to get a member's direct attention in a post you're writing first type an @ and then a ?, (example: @?) and then wait..................... (sometimes longer than you might expect), for their name to appear below where you're writing, then be sure to click on it. IF it doesn't have their name highlighted in a blue background (like yours is above) it didn't work properly and you should try again. This will send them an email or an alert notifying them that you've mentioned them. Those alerts can also be seen if you mouse over the "Inbox" on the upper right menu bar and scroll down.

And lastly I highly recommend becoming a Plus or Pro member of the site and take advantage of all that BP has to offer you. It like getting the keys to the kingdom. It will be one of the best investments you'll make when it comes your real estate investing.

Again welcome to Bigger Pockets!