Hello from Beijing, China! ???

[Bryce Lewis]

Hi everyone,

My name is Bryce. I became interested in REI about a month or two ago and have been coming to the bigger pockets website and listening to the podcasts since around the same time, but am just now getting around to introducing myself.

About me. I'm 26, originally from Cocoa Beach, Florida but have been living in Beijing, China for the past year and a half and have been traveling and living all over the globe since I graduated from college. I can't remember what sparked my interest in real estate investment, but browsing bigger pockets and learning all I can has definitely become my new favorite pastime. I really appreciate the wealth of knowledge that is provided here (for free!) and like the podcasts say - without all the hype.

So now I've gotten to the point where I want to start making things happen but am not exactly sure how to go about it while living abroad. After reading the bigger pockets intro guide I was left with the conclusion that the buy and hold strategy was the only plausible option for me, which eventually lead me to turnkeys. Reading just about every thread on turnkeys left me even more confused. While some of the turnkey providers I've talked to seem reputable, I still have concerns - the primary one being that it's been rather difficult to find anyone who has invested through these companies who isn't affiliated with them in one way or the other. I understand turnkeys really only appeal to a small percentage of people like myself, who can't or don't want to invest in their local market, so maybe the majority of people on here have better options. It just seems strange that I can't find anyone who has had an experience with a turnkey provider outside of a testimonials page.

Ive also researched tax liens and notes as other possible options for long distance investing but I'd prefer to buy real property. Just today I spoke with a family friend who runs a VC firm in Palo Alto and he strongly discouraged me from investing in markets that I'm not living in and have a great deal of knowledge about (I mentioned Dallas to him as it seems most people here are high on Dallas and Texas in general) and to basically forget about investing in real estate until I'm back in the states. And seeing as that's not going to happen for a while (I love my job and my life here and I'm determined to speak fluent mandarin in the near future) I'm at a loss for what to do next. I don't want to give up. Maybe I'll just have to find time to go visit the turnkey providers myself to relieve my skepticism. I get jealous when I'm listening to the podcasts and Josh and Brandon talk about all the cool bigger pockets meetup groups being formed around the states. Guess I'll just have to start one out here! Anyway, sorry for the lengthy intro. I'm looking forward to becoming more active in this community and would greatly appreciate your ideas and support!