Hello from Kernersville NC (Triad)!!

[David Johansen]

I happily stumbled onto this site while doing research on real estate investing a few weeks ago. I have been very impressed with the friendly spirit of cooperation in this community and am honored to be allowed to be a part of BP! I have studied investing (primarily stock market) for much of my life but have in the past not done a good job getting a base below me so I can really apply that knowledge in earnest. 5 years ago just after remodeling a home with stone walls built in 1900 with a naive understanding of what the costs and time inputs would be, the housing crash happening right in the middle of this, persevering and turning it into a beautiful home.....Then I was laid off. I became a motivated seller and was able to sell it without going through foreclosure but I lost all of the equity and savings I had built over the previous 15 years. That was huge wake up call for me. I resolved to do things the "right" way this time and to be very deliberate with money choices. I have a long long way to go but in the past 5 years I have come a long way. For a few years my wife, 4 wonderful children, and I rented an apartment. Almost 2 years ago we were able to buy a home that had gone through foreclosure at a great price. I bought a home that would be a home we would love to live in but at a price that we could rent it out profitably and finally start being a real estate investor. We are now preparing to either buy another home and rent this one out (I think this is the most feasible or stay here and buy another rental property. I am excited to get to meet you all and thank you in advance for your help and camaraderie:) I have a lot of mortgage industry and customer service experience and hopefully I will have some things I can add to help others as well. So with all of that said, Hello BP community!!!