New Buy and Hold investor, from Calgary, Canada

[Alexander Pezzutto]

Hello! My name is Alexander Pezzutto. I am 23 years old, married, and from Lethbridge, Alberta (though Calgary, being close, seemed a more suitable headline). I discovered the Bigger Pockets forums through the podcast, which I discovered simply by searching for more real estate investing podcasts. 

That is the majority of my experience with real estate: podcasts. In the past month and half I have listened to over 60 hours worth of real estate investing podcasts and read several investment guides. And, not unlike many others, I was originally inspired to take this journey a year ago after reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. 

I presently help run a painting franchise in Lethbridge Alberta called College Pro Painters. I will be running this full time for the next few years and plan to invest the majority of my earnings into buy and hold real estate. My wife will also be starting her career as a teacher in two years, which will contribute towards that.

Specifically, my goal is to build enough passive income to have a steady cash flow of ~$10,000 a month. More immediately, however, I would love to have ~$3000/month in 4 years so as to replace my need to work as my wife and I go to plant a church in Nova Scotia. That being said, I am investing in real estate in order to:

- Enable my wife to not have to work if she wants to

- Provide for my family

- Be able to give very generously 

- Be able to serve in pastoral ministry without needing a salary

That's me in a nutshell. I'm glad to be here and am looking forward to meeting many of you!

[Grant Greene]

Alexander:

Good afternoon, and welcome to BP! As you start this new endeavor, I would highly recommend sitting down with a mortgage/financial professional to come up with a plan to help you achieve your short-term goals that will give you the proceeds and resources to pursue and achieve your long-term goals. Many new investors start off "too hot" and end up overdeveloping their first property or spending their money too fast - either of these behaviors will preclude you from achieving even your short-term goals and may knock you out of the game. If you don't have a mortgage/financial pro, I would recommend connecting with a number of investors who have been successful (for more than 12 months) and asking them for a referral to their money person.

I wish you the very best!

Grant