Newbie from Northern New Jersey

[Craig N.]

Hi all. My name is Craig and I'm brand new RE investing, but have thought getting involved in it for about 20 years! I've spent most of my investing life immersed in stocks, bonds, and commodities. I've been fairly successful at it, especially in muni bonds, distressed equities/debt, mortgage servicers, and equity REITS, but now I'm looking to branch out and see what RE has to offer. I have a well-paying full time job and have money for RE should I choose to take the plunge. My career background includes significant time spent in risk mgmt and finance. Anway, I'm mainly attracted to buy/hold positive cash flowing properties, where I would like to build up enough rental income to replace my current income and eventually leg out of my job and do RE full time. Don't think rehabs/flips are my thing, although wholesaling seems attractive. In meantime, happy to start small and careful and learn as I earn (emphasis on learn). Given I'm very busy with my full time job, dealing with tenants is not really an option for me so using a property management company will be key to making this work part time. I must say well done to Brandon and Josh for those podcasts. I've really learned a lot in the week since I've joined and I like that you don't talk over the person you're interviewing. You mainly just sit back and allow your guest to open up and tell his/her story. Probably the most useful RE podcasts I've ever heard. Thank you. In any case, main concern (if it really is one) is that I live in Northern NJ, so wondering if my location, while great to live/work in being near NYC, is not necessarily conducive to finding good rental deals. At this point, as I'd just be starting out, the deals would have to be reachable by car, as I'm not at this point looking to trek cross country although in future that could be an option. At any rate, thanks for reading my intro. Looking forward to reading the BP how-to guides and chatting up the forums.