Newbie from Philadelphia, PA -- seeking knowledge

[Ralph Lewis]

Hello to all -- decided to get involved here, as it is the first web site I have found on the subject of RE investment that appears to have experienced and knowledgeable investors who are willing to help others with their advice. Adding to that the fact that it is closely monitored, keeping out the pie in the sky get rich quick people, greatly boosts the overall appeal.

As a residential mortgage loan officer, I started out deciding I wanted to first get my broker license and also branch into commercial, eventually working into real estate investment as well. I was recently lured into the web of the instant riches of bulk REO, only to find that, while many talk about it and supposedly are dealing in it, few are actually finding success in that area.

After developing a few good connections with investors, and a lot of soon to be forgotten not so good connections, I decided to get back to basics and just observe and learn for a while in the hopes that doing so will also allow me to develop a network of people who are already successful in the areas of residential and commercial investment.

I am 51 years old, and actually backed into the mortgage business in a round about way 4 years ago. I feel like I missed the boat all these years in the area of real estate, but I am a young 51, energetic, and eagerly soak up knowledge and enjoy networking in any area of business. Any and all advice and mentoring is greatly appreciated.

While I am interested in the area of real estate investment for myself over the long haul, I am also greatly interested in dealing in commercial properties as well as REO's, each within the realm of working with investors -- the one area where I have been able to make some inroads with regards to meeting people who are in fact able to do what they say they can do. It is the seller side of things and obtaining good (well priced) sources for REO's that seem to elude me. In the area of commercial, I feel I just need to sit back and observe for a while, as I have no knowledge or background to fall upon on that subject.