New REI in Colorado Springs

[Trevor Kolb]

Hello Everyone,

As the start to my introduction, I'll provide a brief background about me as a 27 year old beginning investor. I grew up in Austin, MN until I was 22 and moved to Sioux Falls, SD. As of July 2015, I've been located in Colorado Springs, CO.

My background begins with being employed at a small BBQ restaurant for 8 years, working from Dishwasher to Manager. This job was crucial to my interest in Business as it was a family owned business and I initially wanted to make it my first investment. This never came to fruition and I moved on to a job with Hormel. 

During my 2 years with Hormel, I decided to join the National Guard and deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2011 as a Truck Driver and the master licenser for 3 companies. This was where I got my first taste of doing real bookwork, managing 300+ records of soldiers and their training. After returning, I moved to Sioux Falls and began Tow Truck Driving for a year and a half, of which I primarily ran the company as the sole employee. 

After a car accident put me out of work for an extended period, I shifted careers to Insurance. I was hired with Esurance in July of 2013, and quickly moved from a CSR to a licensed property and casualty agent. Avoiding Sales, I've remained in the service side as a member of the E-mail team, handling policyholder questions regaring auto, motorcycle, homeowners, and renters insurance questions. Statistically, I regularly perform 1.5 times more efficient than my coworkers and I've truly grown bored with the lack of challenge. 

Since moving to Colorado a year ago, I've observed my landlord and mentor Joe Graeve working on REI. After picking up Rich Dad, Poor Dad with Joe's recommendation, I've amped up my daily goals to learn more about REI. Already, I've created my own investor workbook to analyze each deal with a minimum 20% ROI. I've tailored my analytics to also perform 3 exit strategy reviews for fix-n-flips, rentals, and lease agreements.

As of this moment, I haven't made any accepted offers. I've made 1 offer this week on an Investor Special deal this week, which has not been accepted. I know I could and should be out making offers everywhere I can, but I'm also realizing how green I am to the industry. In an effort to gain more knowledge, I've joined BiggerPockets to network with other industry professionals. I will be focusing on sifting through many of the forums on here to learn everything you have to offer. Soon, I will also be attending regular REI meetings in my area and will be providing a true face-to-face meeting.

If you have any questions, or if you like to discuss your goals and business objectives please feel free to contact me anytime. 

Have a great day!

[Austin Faux]

Welcome @Trevor Kolb!  If I were you I would do everything I can to keep learning from your landlord Joe.  It looks like you could help him find more properties.  Ask if he is looking to buy more, what he wants to buy, in what areas of town and then go find those properties. You could even wholesale them to him for an assignment fee, or ask him if he wants to team up for a buy & hold for you guys to partner on.