Newbie from Metro Detroit, Michigan

[Giles Smith]

Hello Bigger Pockets,

I am a long time lurker and occasional poster looking to network and learn.

Several years ago, before online poker was destroyed with lawsuits, I was a professional, online poker player.  I read books on poker theory, studied math, played 15 tables online simultaneously, and earned enough money to pay the bills and do some investing all while in medical school.  One of my poker forums had an excellent ask me anything about real estate investing and piqued my interest.

I began to read books and go to real estate investor meetings when I had time, including Renegade Investors of Detroit and REIA of Oakland county, made some connections, and set up my first deal. I purchased a home in Redford Michigan for 35k cash. I did a back to back closing and sold the home for 50k on land contract with 15k down payment and 7% interest on the balance amortized over the next 6 years. That note has been performing for 2+ years now. I am currently in the process of doing some wholesale deals with fellow BP member, Andrew Holman, am moving to a new home in Grosse Pointe. MI with my growing family, and am converting my home in Clawson, MI to a rental property with a contract already signed.

My current goals are to continue educating myself about real estate, generate capital from wholesale deals and eventually do some flipping after I have set up a team in the area. I would ultimately like to convert this capital into buy and hold SFR and manage a growing portfolio of real estate to protect and increase my wealth. As I learn, grow, and build my portfolio I am going to focus on automating and streamlining as many processes as possible so as to further grow my income and be able to spend more time with my family. I am currently reading J. Scott's books on flipping and estimating rehab costs and regularly listen to BP podcasts. I am also a resident physician in the third year (of four) of my anesthesiology residency.

I look forward to attending some Bigger Pockets Detroit meet ups, meeting some of you, and continuing to learn and enjoy real estate.