New guy in Grand Rapids MI

[Donvier Laffitte]

Good Morning Everyone,

Another new guy here. Looking to get into multi-family properties (at least initially). I just stumbled across this site a couple weeks ago, and have been looking through as much of the information as I can. It really seems like there's a tremendous amount of resources here, and I'm excited to get started!

While still building my plan, I've primarily decided to go after 4ish-plexes simply due to the intricacies of financing, and the cost barrier to get in the door on larger. My one concern that I've been reading opinions on (and feel free to add yours) is that I don't intend to stay in Grand Rapids long term (preferably relocating within the next year or two). That being the case, I have been looking at investing out west, mainly Arizona/Nevada area as I intend to end up (and am originally from) that area of the country. Realizing this adds a decent amount of risk to the situation, especially being a first timer, I've also considered just getting in the game locally and then worrying about spreading out later. Still a bit on the fence with all that. 

I am currently a software developer by trade, and my background is almost entirely IT (consulting, implementation, training). I have a decent amount of startup capital, and my day job pays well enough to help fund my RE endeavors. My eventual goal is to create enough passive income to have the opportunity of pursuing investing full time, or even added safety for pursuing self employment of any sort.

Looking forward to getting to know the community, and of course getting started!