Newbie from NYC

[Jacqueline Pelzer]

Hi, my name is Jacqueline. I am a 13 year veteran of the NYPD. Back in 2006 at the height of the market I purchased a 5 unit house in Brooklyn. It went well for a few months until the sewer went and I had to dip into my savings to repair it. The market collapsed shortly after that and my tenants one by one stopped paying. I got judgments from 2 and the other 3 disappeared but not before they completely vandalized and destroyed my house, making it uninhabitable. Long story short I ended finally getting an approved short sale after battling with Bank of America for years in 2013. Basically I've had a terrible experience. But I'm finally ready to get back into it. Just smarter this time. 

I live in Westchester county, which is 10mins north of NYC. I purchased my coop apartment with no bank financing in Feb 2015. I've been bringing my debt to income ratio down and my credit score up (the short sale and the waiting really ranked my credit). 

I am looking to start the process of investing in rentals here in Westchester county (possibly Yonkers), or Philadelphia (my sister lives there) or Atlanta (my mom lives there). I'm trying to gain knowledge and figure out where to start instead of diving in like I did last time. 

I look forward to sharing ideas, gaining knowledge from all the experienced investors and networking with everyone. 

[Paul Timmins]

@Jacqueline Pelzer

Welcome. Over 30 yrs in LE here. Fill in the foundation below.

Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere

Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.

Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having over 100 past ones to catch up on.

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). Find them through Google and meetup.com

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

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