Intro: Ian Clayton from Southern Maine; York; Ogunquit; Portland

[Ian Clayton]

Hello! My name is Ian. I joined Bigger Pockets after reading Brandon Turner's "Book on Rental Property Investing" and "Investing with No (or Low) Money Down." I am an artist at heart, but have recently been bit by a finance bug after reading Robert Kiyosaki's books. I have decided on buy and hold rental properties, starting with residential and working my way up to commercial. I have no experience, so I've been reading. I'm interested in rehabing properties and owner occupied benefits.

I am very appreciative that this community exists. I truly hope to offer value. I have no experience in real estate, but I'm a fast learner and a hard worker. I've always gotten bored at jobs, but I can tell that this isn't like that. I do have a degree in writing from Emerson College and can offer any services related to that.

My first goal is to learn how to study markets. I'd like to start by focusing on Portland, Maine, but I really don't even know what to begin looking at.

My current financial situation is as follows. I live with my parents and work in a family business. We run a single screen classic cinema in Ogunquit, Maine. This is rather unsuccessful as my dad is a poor business man, and so he has just begun the process of listing it for sale. It employs me currently but it's seasonal. I make 300/week until mid June then 700/week for the summer. I have about $22,000 in student loan debt. I have about $3,000 in savings and 11 bitcoins. I'm wondering if I should pay off my student loan debt as fast as possible? How badly does it impact my ability to get loans?

Thank you and I look forward to meeting you.

Ian