Newbie from Chicago

[Lee Badragan]

Hello all,

I live just outside the city of Chicago, and have always loved the idea of investing in RE. I bought my first house (to live in) in 2009, and finally did my first flip this year. 

I do my best to live below my means so that I can take advantage of investing opportunities when they present themselves. I know the motto "measure twice, cut once". When it comes to RE investing, I adopted but modified the motto for myself to "measure 100 times before I buy" :) I'm VERY careful and will only buy if it looks like a "no brainer" with a big margin of safety in case things go really bad. Needless to say, it's very rare that I see something that looks like an attractive deal to me.

So I'm here to learn from the pros, be on the lookout for any great deals, and try to contribute based on my very limited knowledge and experience. 

I've enjoyed browsing around the forums and the blog... thanks everyone for your contributions!

[Paul Timmins]

@Lee Badragan 

Welcome. Time to build the foundation below.

Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere

Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.

Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having over 90 past ones to catch up on.

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses,The Book on Estimating ReHab Costshttp://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and all the cash buyers (rehabbers) you will need.

You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good luck

Paul