New Member from Tampa, FL - My Story

[Michael Marzuco]

Hi BP Community! I'm a new investor in the Tampa, FL area. I actually live in Riverview and have been in the Brandon/ Valrico/ Riverview area since 1999. I graduated from Brandon High School in 1999 after attending about 2 months there. My father was in the Army so we moved around a lot growing up. I have lived in Japan, Germany (twice), The Netherlands, North Carolina, and Georgia before moving to Florida. I love it here and don't plan on moving.

I graduated from the University of South Florida in 2005 and have been in the Insurance Industry since then. I am married with 3 daughters (I know, I know)... Our 3rd daughter was born a year ago and my wife stayed home with her for the first 6 months. We attempted to put her in daycare after that but she wasn't adjusting well. At that point, I decided I would quit my job and stay home with the baby and try to work on starting my own business.

My dad passed away last year and left me a little bit of money. I used a lot of that money to take a Real Estate "Guru" course and then the rest has been used for marketing and living expenses. I set up a website and a Google Ads account which has the phone ringing maybe once a week. I also put out Bandit Signs which has led to some people calling as well but nothing has panned out yet. I'm so desperate to make this Real Estate Investing business work, but I'm afraid that I'm failing as I'm still chasing my first deal. We are stressed at home because almost all of my money is now gone and I still haven't made any deals. At this point I don't know what to do. I'm willing to do almost anything to succeed which means splitting profits for experience or doing whatever someone needs me to do so I can get my feet wet and learn this business from someone who is doing it "hands-on."

I'm not asking for a hand-out but if anyone is in my market and can help me or give me some advice I would be forever grateful.

Thank you so much!