New Investor from Los Angeles

[Jesse Zhu]

Hell everyone:

My name is Jesse Zhu. I am from South Pasadena of Los Angeles area California. I started my real estate investing study in 2013. I have been actively attending local REI meetings, networking, reading articles/books/blogs, listening to podcast, etc, absorbing as much knowledge as possible. I am an appraiser in the day time and investor at night. My appraiser job gives me a good market insights.

My short term goal is to flip 2-3 houses in Southern California in the first year and use the money to fund buy and hold cash flow properties in a long run. Currently I am actively seeking my first (and the hardest) deal to break ground. I am working hard to build my power team, network and prepare. On the other hand, I also realize no matter how much I plan and prepare, I still need to pull the trigger and dive in at certain point and learn from doing. Fortunately Biggerpockets has been such a great resource and people here are so supportive and generous, I feel less anxious and nervous. 

One of my recent hobbies (I call it hobby because I take a great pleasure in listening to it everyday) is listening to Biggerpockets podcasts. I not only learnt tons of investment wisdom and tips, but also get inspired by the positive energy in it. One of my favorite quotes is "You are the average of the five people you spent the most time with". This little introduction is my first step towards surrounding myself with these "five" people. I sincerely welcome any comments and advice from fellow biggerpockets members and hope to be able to give back in the future.

[Elizabeth Colegrove]

Welcome to Biggerpockets!

We are buy and hold investors. Our motivation is to be able to control our life when my husband time with the Navy comes to an end. I think having a goal like that pushes you further than ever to be successful. I think the other key is while never forgetting your goal is to also being flexible. We have had so MANY lemonades turns into lemon aid that our entire business plan has evolved in the last 3 years. 

We have never done a flip but I look forward to watching the progress through the blogs. The first deal is always the hardest. While I find every deal hard, I think the numbers and your success at doing it gets better every time.

This is an amazing place because the only thing everyone agree with is real estate. Other than that everyone has their own niche. So look around the blogs, forums and listen to the podcasts. If you see a post you enjoy check out the persons signature. Many of us including myself talk about our strategies, styles, niches and business model on our website. So definitely check that out as it is an amazing additional resource. For example, my blog is about while working full time, buy and hold investing, 0% Down Rentals, Personal Properties turned rentals, Long distancing investing, self-managing 3,000+ miles away. Definitely list your blog or website in your signature, if you have one. Its a great additional networking source.

Look forward to seeing you around! Let me know if I can help!