New Real Estate Investor - Charleston, SC

[Patrick Bross]

My name is Patrick Bross and I have recently moved to the Charleston, SC. I was previously living in Northern Virginia and working in software sales with the Federal Gov’t as my customer. I escaped the insane cost of living that comes with DC and decide to live by the beach. I currently work for a publicly traded software company and continue to sell IT but into a brand new industry. My background in real estate is rather young but I have spent the past two months learning everything I can (books, BP podcasts, etc). Before software sales I spent some time in NYC working in the finance industry and have always been passionate about investment vehicles (mainly trading equities).

After moving, I started to see the potential in the Charleston real estate market and started learning. Along with building a network of friends and business associates, my short-term goal is to purchase a multifamily downtown or close by. I plan to live there for at least a year while renting the other unit. From there I would have collected enough capital from my job to purchase another MFH (or a SFH or two). My plan is to repeat this process and grow a large portfolio of rental properties. I don't see myself getting into REI full time in the near future as I have a great job that commands a very nice salary vs. the local cost of living (and I enjoy it too!). However, I am determined to reach a point that allows me to retire by my 40th birthday to pursue other passions in life.

I came to find BiggerPockets after hearing a radio ad in DC about some RE guru coming to town. Luckily I was already aware of these guru pitches, as they don't only exist in real estate. I decided to attend the free seminar anyway. After listening to a 2 hour long sales pitch which was mainly dross, I decided that these guys were full of fluff but real estate made a lot of sense. I began searching around the internet to get reviews on this particular seminar group, which of course led me to BiggerPockets. Someone has posted whether or not they should pay $25k to be in their super duper special trainee program. The topic was a lively one but eventually boiled down to empowering new REI's to skip the guru's and use the BP community. I thought this was just awesome and now I am hooked.

So that is my story. I encourage anyone nearby or wherever to reach out to me. I hope to make friends and find likeminded investors.

- Patrick