Jonathan Cope: Tenured investor from New Jersey

[Jonathan Cope]

Hello BP,

Thank you for your rich community and member content. 

I have been casually reading BP for years, however, with the advent of the podcasts, which I greatly enjoy, I have opted to invest more time daily reading blog posts, PDFs, and member content. 

What a terrific place BP is. 

Josh and Brandon both make the platform a rich one for the entire community. 

I have been active in real estate since 2000 both as an investor and professionally. 

My wife and I buy and hold primarily. 

We have rehabbed two units of which we flipped one to pay for our wedding. 

We began investing with a 1 bedroom condo in Hoboken, NJ, using a cash advance and an FHA loan requiring a 3% down payment in 2000.

We've had good fortune with our units to date. 

We add units slowly in New Jersey's A markets. 

We self manage with assistance from a great team of vendors. 

Our investment progress was slowed recently due to a three year overseas professional assignment. 

We successfully managed our properties from London by partnering with our tenants and vendors both; even through Hurricane Sandy. 

Having returned to the US, we are now looking to expand our investment efforts. 

We'll primarily continue to focus on A markets but will likely also begin to explore multi-unit investing in the Midwest and South. 

We may also explore select B and C markets if A market appreciation looks less likely in the mid-term. 

Thank you again for BP. 

It is no wonder that it is celebrating 10 years of success. 

I look forward to being a more active member and reading my way through Brandon's most recent book publication. 

Please let me know should you have questions about investing, finding good talent, working in New Jersey, or anything else that you think I might be able to assist with. 

Best regards,

Jonathan Cope