New member from Minnesota

[Kyle Kipka]

Hello, my name is Kyle and I'm from the St. Paul area in Minnesota. I have been interested in real estate for several years now (currently 27 years of age) and have been trying to learn as much as possible and gain some experience along the way. My full-time job is working as a design consultant/salesman for a home remodeling company.

About 2 years ago I purchased my first property, a foreclosed condo on St. Paul's east side. This was a cash purchase since I was unable to obtain financing at that time (not enough credit history, 100% commission job, etc). The place was in terrible shape but I managed to complete a full interior remodel while living there with some help from friends, youtube videos and some paid help. It took me about 1 year to do that as I had to complete the work as I could afford to and had the time but I'm now satisfied with the way it turned out. I've learned a lot from that one and and made a couple good connections for future work. 

Late fall of last year I purchased my 2nd property (1970's built, split-level home) in my hometown of Cottage Grove, MN. This was also a foreclosure but was much more expensive then the first so I was able to purchase it with an FHA loan on a 30 yr mortgage.

I now need to decide where I go from here which is the main reason for joining the forum at this time. I'm hoping to gain some additional advice moving forward on what decisions make the most sense for me personally and to figure out the path I want to go (flip the properties, convert into rental(s), etc). 

So far I've really enjoyed learning about the world of real estate investing and I'm looking forward to learning from more experienced investors. 

Thanks

~Kyle