Newish Member in Houston, TX

[Jim Lin]

Hello BP,

My name is Jim Lin and as the title says, I'm based in Houston. I work full time as an Engineering Trainer for an Oil & Gas Company and have been investing in real estate since 2009. I honestly wish I had discovered BP sooner as I have had to learn many lessons through trial & error (ie the hard way).

With my career in O&G, I have lived in 6 locations in the last 10 years. I got a unique opportunity to start in real estate because my company paid for closing and commission as part of my relocation every time I moved. This made it bit less scary to dive head first into buying real estate. Each time I moved, I would rent out my house instead of selling and was happy breaking even. My initial goal was to build equity on someone else's dime and have passive retirement income.

In 2013, I made a plan to generate more revenue with my RE investments. During the course of my research, I found BP and have gained a lot of useful insight from articles and posts. I ended up selling 2 under-performing properties and exchanged them for a couple MFRs in Dallas. I currently own 3 rental properties with 7 total units averaging 16% cap rate.

Now that I no longer work 100+ hr weeks, I have decided to spend more time on the forums, "pay it forward" sharing some of my experiences, network, and continue expanding my knowledge. My current goal is to build capital by getting into a rehabs and private lending.