Hello from San Jose, CA

[Justin Lee]

Hello everyone,

I'm an anesthesiologist trying to dig out of a mountain of student loan debt while supporting a wife and 3 young children in the Bay Area.  When I started private practice two years ago, I finally decided it was time to educate myself in financial matters, and boy, was it an eye-opening experience.  I made a lot of dumb choices along the way, but I think I'm finally starting to get on the right track.  I paid off $35k in credit card debt, $25k in high interest student loans, and bought a house in San Jose with 5% down. 

I started investing my retirement money in the stock market about a year ago, using a modified David Swenson Yale portfolio strategy, and so far, results have been underwhelming. I know it's only been one year (the 1st out of the next 30), but I know there has to be better opportunities out there. I want lower risk and higher returns, which led me to looking at real estate.

A while ago I attended a free lunch hosted by a physician real estate investor who works with a syndicator doing large commercial multifamily deals and their presentation got me excited. Early in his career, the investor had started off buying rental properties, moved on to small multifamily units, but got tired of "tenants and toilets", and is now involved in commercial multifamily. He has enough income from real estate to be able to work as a doctor when he wants to, not because he has to, which is exactly what I want to be able to do.  I love my job, but burnout rates are high in the current healthcare environment. 

I am a complete novice when it comes to real estate and investing, but I love to learn new things. Since discovering Bigger Pockets less than a week ago, I think I've spent over 20 hours listening to podcasts, scouring the forums, and reading blog posts. I even bought J Scott's The Book on Flipping Houses and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs. There is a TON of information here on real estate, and it is SO overwhelming!  I just hope I can turn all this knowledge into action soon, but I feel like I have such a long way to go before I'm ready to jump into something.

Thank you to everyone out there who shares your knowledge and experience. This community is amazing and I hope to be a regular contributor here eventually. 

Justin

[J. Martin]

Hi @Justin Lee ,

Congrats on all your success so far getting educated and buying a primary residence for your family on the peninsula :) It also sounds like you're driven and motivated! So even with some debt, you're probably in a lot better position than many people.

This website is a great place to absorb information, as you've already seen. Under "Learn" check out the beginner guide, and the podcasts are great too. I also think one of the most informative things you can do is come out and meet other Bay Area investors, to see what others are up to.

@Johnson H. is having a meetup at @Nhi Nguyen 's new build in San Jose tomorrow, Sat, at 12 if you can make it out (see Johnson's signature). There are lots of great investors down that way.. Be sure to talk to @Account Closed . He does multifamily. There are fewer commercial / "triple net" investors on here. But I believe @Yuliany W. might have been looking at some, Johnson and I know a thing or two about, @Joel Owens isn't local, but he's the king of commercial on BP.

I invest up above you in the East Bay in lower-income neighborhoods (Oakland and Richmond), and it's been great so far. But explore around and see everything that's out there. Although deals have slowed WAY down, there are still people around her making money left and right, locally and elsewhere..