New Member form Chicago Area

[Brian Barrett]

Aloha fellow Pockets!

Thank you to all who devote their time and resources to this amazing site. I am truly grateful.

A shameless quote from a past resume:

A twenty-five year construction veteran with a wide variety of experience beginning as a carpenter apprentice and advancing to V.P./Division Manager. Diverse background includes carpentry, supervision, design, drafting, estimating, scheduling, project management, division management, and business development.

I started out of High School in the carpentry trades performing residential kitchens, bath rooms, additions, and custom homes. Eventually lead to multi tenant, commercial, and industrial projects. During this time I attended night school and attained an Associate in Architecture, and eventually Bachelors in Construction Engineering. Licensed Real Estate Agent 04/2014. I am currently working on an MBA.

When I got out of college I got a JOB starting out as a Project Manager for a large Commercial General Contractor. Have spent the last +- (15) years working in the Healthcare sector focusing primarily on high-tech Radiology, OR, and Laboratory projects. Currently own a small (very small) Consulting Firm (estimating & project management) and work for an international commercial real estate company.

Blah, blah, blah…

Our experience in real estate investing began with our current home. We bought a 800 s.f., two (2) bed room, one (1) bath house and turned it into a 3,600 s.f., four (4) bedroom, three (3) bath home with a +-35% ROI. That was 2006. We have to believe in the current market, we can replicate this model, with some variation.

Recently heard a quote that really rang true:

If you are not working to achieve your own goals, you are working to fulfill someone else’s.

Goals? That’s where Real Estate comes in.

Time: More than anything, time with family is the ultimate goal here.

Finance: More will be revealed.

Future: To build a sustainable business to provide for current and future goals. Ultimately, a legacy to pass on.

I always thought I would come back to design/build and begin real estate investing in retirement. With a 3 and 5 year old, on our current course, retirement appears to be a distant and dismal future.

Currently seeking flips with varying degrees of renovation required. No fear of tackling major renovations. Currently learning as much possible about wholesale, as this is currently a bit out of comfort zone. Long term goals are to focus on buy and hold. Not limiting focus to strictly single family residential, as to multi tenant, commercial, and industrial are not an unknown entity.

I came to join Bigger Pockets through a suggestion from my wife. A very skeptical (but very smart) girl, who didn’t quite agree with the Guru’s sales pitch, but does have a fair amount of trepidation regarding this new endeavor. I am forever grateful to her for keeping me grounded.

Favorite hobby: Scuba diving, cold and warm water. I have four (4) brothers and three (3) of us travel to the Hawaiian island’s every August to spend seven (7) days exclusively shore diving (yes, the wives provide a hall pass. God bless them.) Eventually we would like to own property there.

Mahalo in advance.

Respectfully,

Brian