New from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago

[Stephen Durante]

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to provide a brief introduction of myself! My name is Stephen Durante and I am 22 years old currently living in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. I am currently working as a control engineer in building automation, with experience as an electrical contractor from previous employment. I have no experience in the real estate business, but would like to start learning! I've read numerous books on the industry because it has always been an interest of mine, which is how I eventually stumbled onto BP. I know I want to go into owning and managing properties, starting small and making my way up if I find out that I can handle the lifestyle. That being said, I have some general knowledge of REI but I would like to further learn more with the help of this community. Thanks in advance!

Regards, 

Stephen  

[Lumi Ispas]

@Stephen Durante 

Welcome to the BP community. You'll find amazing people and great advice on this site.

As a beginner in RE investing, and if you are not a homeowner yet, I'll advice you to buy a 3-4 flat with a 3.5% FHA loan and if the building needs work, you can also do a 203K construction loan.

If you work the numbers well, the additional rents could pay for most of the expenses of the building and you could live for free in the smallest unit.

I bought that way and I have a lot of clients buying just like that.

Let me know if you'd like to talk further!