Investor from a small town in Southwestern PA

[Josh Layhue]

Hello all. I'm from a small town in PA about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh. I've been reading about real estate investing for about a year now and made my first purchase about 2 months ago. My dad, my brother and I started a business through which to do our investing. Our first purchase is a commercial building (maybe a little too much for just starting...) with a VERY old apartment above it that I'm hoping to fix up and rent. The area around here is looking pretty good. Lots of cheap houses, lots of businesses (high-tech and retail) moving into the area and not a lot of investors. Anyway... I'm a complete novice, learning as I go. My full-time job is as an electrical engineer, so I understand the numbers... if only that were all I had to know!

Well, I'll be around. I've been reading posts daily and would like to thank all of you for your input. The discussions are tremendously helpful. And thanks for starting this whole thing, Josh!