Seattle WA New Guy

[Nicholas Shepherd]

Hello BP,

Names Nick, my wife and I have decided to dive head first into real estate investing, even though we barley have our toes wet. Not to mention the sound water being freezing!

My wife and I are in our mid twenties and love the outdoors and traveling. Our goal in real estate investing is to gain a substantial amount of passive income to allow us to work fewer hours at our jobs and more hours together doing the things we love.  Can you guess our favorite book? (hint: It's the 4 Hour Work Week). I am a nurse by trade and am in the US Army. My wife does marketing for a company in DT Seattle. Although we enjoy our fields, we enjoy our free time and time together far more.

We took a road trip spanning a month across the western states and into Canada. We fell in love with the  PNW, Seattle in particular. The outdoors were calling us and we picked up the phone. We decided to move here from Chicago a mere 3 months ago. We found a small one bed apt in southern Seattle, just to get us out here. The apt is 500 square feet and costs us, after utilities, over $1400 a month. Luckily for us, we only signed a 6 month lease anticipating that we would soon become tired of paying for such a small space that doesn't belong to us. We anticipated correctly. Were 3 months in, and we've had it. We've toyed with the idea of investing in real estate before back in Chicago, but never pulled the trigger. Now is the time. We cannot stand the idea of paying the equivalent of a mortgage for our tiny Apt. We are looking to purchasing a multifamily property, and occupying one of the units. House hacking if you will. We are going to kill three birds with one stone in that we will have a place to live, tenants will be paying for most of the mortgage, and we will gain some experience in investing and land lording. After gaining knowledge in the field, we plan on traveling different avenues in the way of flipping single families, and one day, commercial properties. Were not completely green behind the ears, We know the Seattle market is tough, but with being in the military, I am no stranger to adversity or a challenge. We have set our sights on our first property by the end of 2016, and are planning to own 10 by the end of '17. 

Every one starts somewhere and here we are. 

We would love to network with others in the area, to include seasoned investors and fellow newbies alike. We are also open to any and all advice or tips you guys and gals may have. We look forward to interacting with the BP community and getting to know everyone in the area.