Hello! New from Westland, MI

[Jessica Sheppard]

My name is Jessica Sheppard, I am a 31 year old wife and mother of 2...I currently work full-time in a completely opposite field - healthcare. I really have no experience at all in real-estate or investing. I joined to get helpful information, education, and research in hopes to achieve some goals in the future. My first goal is to be able to purchase my first rental unit for positive cash flow in 2016. From there continue to grow my portfolio.

[Mark Nolan]

@Jessica Sheppard

Welcome to the BP community. You will find alot of good information here. Make sure to view the BP blogs under "Learn."

[Jessica Sheppard]

Thanks Mark!

[Michael S.]

@Jessica Sheppard

Welcome to Biggerpockets. You're definitely in the right place to learn about REI. good luck and great success.

[Brandon Turner]

Hey @Jessica Sheppard thanks for introducing yourself! It's great to have you here! Don't miss The BiggerPockets Podcast - they are great for learning how others are finding success.

Also - here's a couple articles you might enjoy:

The 21 Best Real Estate Investing Books Ever

How to Rent Your House: The Definitive Step by Step Guide

How to Be a Landlord: Ten Tips for Success

Oh - and be sure to set up some Keyword Alerts- especially for "Westland" so you'll be notified when people mention it here in the forums.

Thanks again for introducing yourself!

[Joe Fairless]

@Jessica Sheppardwelcome to BP! What market are you looking to invest in? 

[Jessica Sheppard]

I am looking into multi-family rental properties. Preferably smaller to start duplex, four-plex and go from there since I really have no experience. I am in no rush and plan to spend the rest of this year learning and researching what I an before I purchase anything.

[Eric Diem]

@Jessica Sheppard

Welcome to Bigger Pockets. There is a lot of info here you should have no trouble learning about Buy & Hold. Be sure to check out anything from @Brandon Turner he tailors a lot of his content around buy & hold. There is also @Brie Schmidt from Chicago she also provides a great deal of quality content on Income investing.

Don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything.

Eric.

[Jessica Sheppard]

@Eric Diem

Thank you for the welcome and the information. I have been listening to the BP podcasts and getting some useful tips and education. I will definitely look into Brie Schmidt as well. I see that you are an investor in Michigan, are you new to the game too or how many deals have you completed? What type of investing do you do? Do you have any helpful tips for a newbie? Are you a realtor as well? If you have done some deals what are some preferred lenders, title companies, et al to use?

Thanks again.

[Paul Timmins]

@Jessica Sheppard

Welcome. Your profession should be the source of all the private money you will need.

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers).

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses, The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good Luck

Paul

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

Welcome to BP @Jessica Sheppard Find and network with local investors using find feature! http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet

Wishing you the best!

[Geof Greeneisen]

hi @Jessica 

@Jessica Sheppard welcome to BP! You're in a great area for just about any strategy you choose to pursue. I really like the Westland market. Depending on the direction you want to go, there are people here that can help.  

Best of luck to you!