Greetings from a newbie in Shelby, NC

[Leah Jones]

Hello, everyone! I am eager to continue my research and learn as much as I can through the podcasts as well to enhance my knowledge and get the ball rolling. A little about me: I am married and have four kiddos. My husband works very hard to secure our finances so I can stay home with the kids and homeschool. This has made it really nice because it gives me time to teach my kids as well as have a flexible schedule to do other things. I have wanted to generate an extra income "from home" but have never been interested really in the local fads of home based businesses. I tend to dream bigger dreams than what selling make-up or vacuum cleaners might offer, and with things like that being so popular, I don't see the point in it for me (everyone I know is a dealer of sorts so why should I become one too if I would have no one to sell to lol). I feel like I have certain talents that would really work well in the real estate industry and want to get my toes wet first. We bought our first house together in 2011 for $63,000. It had foreclosed so we talked the price down and made a great deal. Everyone that first saw the house asked me why in the world I would want a house like that. It was needing upgrades and repairs. It's a 5 bedroom 3 bath house with a little over 2800 sqft and is in a prime location. My answer to the questions and looks of disapproval- "I see it beautiful"....now we are preparing to sell and the value is closing in on $200k with having put about $13k in it total. We did a lot of our own work and I found the best materials at the lowest prices. So I feel confident this was a great investment. I have an eye for properties with potential and also ways to reach the potential using high dollar materials but without paying the high cost. As we are house searching currently for a family home, I have come across some opportunities that I believe are an amazing leap in investing. I'm researching everything I can and am hoping to find a way to get the funds to turn several lots into a development (it's lakeside!!!). I believe this group will be the perfect diving board I've needed to learn from the best! Thank you all for having me here! :)