San Jose, CA newbie... starting from scratch!

[Brendan M.]

Hello, everybody!  My name is Brendan and I was introduced to biggerpockets.com by my brother.  He also turned me on to "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and that book really opened my eyes.  I have always felt "trapped" in the "rat race" but could never express or share my frustration in detail the way Kiyosaki does.

I've been living in the south bay for just about all of my life.  I know this area is difficult to get started in, but I'm hoping to find my niche.  Ideally I would like to have rental properties and do some flips.  I'm in a "holding pattern" of sorts until later this year, so I'm learning what I can in that time.  I have no past real estate experience other than being a renter.  I have done some light construction (alarm installation, conduit, etc.) and am a good handyman or jack of all trades if you will.  However, i would say my best quality is my drive and attention to detail.

Some of my passions include ice hockey, fitness, European cars (Audi/VW), and music.  I hope to be back playing at Sharks' Ice by the end of the year with my two brothers who also play.  I work out religiously and have found it to be one of the best things I have ever done for myself.  I'm mainly into the home videos (Insanity, T25, etc.) but have done weights in the past as well as yoga, cross-fit, etc.  Can't wait to have another Audi or VW but that will have to wait.  Business first, then toys, right?  I play a variety of instruments but I'm not great at any of them.  However, I can fudge my way through a song and that's just fine with me.  I also sing and write music and hope to have some of that available soon.

What I'm hoping to get out of BP is information and a network.  I came to the realization that WHO you know is usually more important that WHAT you know.  And I came upon that the hard way.  But I'm not afraid of change. In fact, I enjoy the challenge.

I actually signed up a few weeks ago, but attended my first webinar tonight with Brandon.  He even answered one of my questions!  Did you know he owns the house that Kurt Cobain grew up in?  One of the things he wanted us to do was "take action", so here I am!