Newbie Couple from Denver, Colorado

[Austin Faux]

Hi Everyone!

My wife (Amanda) and I are from Denver, Colorado and we started up our business (Miracle Real Estate Group, LLC) a few months ago. It's been a long interesting path to becoming real estate investors, so if you read the rest of this thanks ahead of time! ....hopefully it's entertaining enough ;)

My Wife and I

Ladies first! My wife (Amanda) has been studying real estate off and on for about 5 years.  She's been watching the Denver market intently for that period of time because we were trying to figure out if we wanted to buy our first house, or buy a 4-plex and have someone pay our mortgage.  We never quite got anything going because we were still both in school, and other expenses ate up our downpayment.  She studied Biochemistry and worked in a pharmacy for many years before she realized that she didn't want to become a pharmacist but instead wanted to homeschool our kids.

I've been in the Army National Guard for 16.5 years and wanted to become a military chaplain.  I went to school for mental health and counseling and did group therapy work (as an intern) with people who had drug and alcohol issues.   Little did I know how much help my degree would give me in talking with people in this profession!  Long story short, the Army increased the requirements to become a Chaplain while decreasing the age to fulfill those new requirements, and by the time I could finish the new requirements I would be ONE YEAR too old.  So I just spent all this time in school, and my goal was no longer in reach.  

I wasn't interested in doing counseling on the civilian side, but luckily for me I knew how to help websites rank higher on Google (SEO).  I got hired professionally a number of years ago and have been doing SEO and internet marketing for lots of high profile clients.  One of those clients happened to be HomeVestors/We Buy Ugly Houses, and over the years I saw how much money I was making them, and though I still love SEO I decided that I needed to become an investor too.  

Rich Dad Poor Dad

My wife and I picked up Rich Dad, Poor Dad and we've been very focused in helping each other learn how to become real estate investors.  In fact our first deal was ALMOST a $22,000/m cashflow producing 13 acre horse stable, which we had a lot of confidence buying because horses, ranches and stables runs through Amanda's side of our family.  We ended up buying into the Rich Dad education system and we've been doing the trainings since October.  

Moving Forward to Help Others!

I have to admit that I feel very blessed to be in the position that I currently am in.   Even though military chaplaincy, becoming a police officer, becoming a pharmacist fell short for my wife and I, we've never been closer.  My wife loves following the market, I've been obsessed with population growth patterns since I lived in Boston, L.A. and Washington D.C. as a kid.  Plus my wife and I even before getting into real estate investing would go to open houses and tour apartment complexes (pretending we needed to move) on date nights.  But the best part about real estate investing is no one but me can stand between me and being an investor.  No one can tell me after years and years of schooling you can't do it.  

We're very eager to develop trusting long term relationships/friendships with other investors in the Denver market, and we love to help people in any way that we can!  So if we can help you find a win/win with a property, or you need help understanding internet marketing let us know!

[Bill S.]

@Austin Faux and Amanda, welcome to the sight. Sounds like you have a good background to start. Jump onto the forums and listen to the pod casts. Denver is the home of Bigger Pockets so it has a strong contingent that is local. Get out and meet some folks at the local meetup that @Anson Young puts together.