Hello World! / New investor taking action in the Phoenix valley!

[J.Michael Edwards-Toepel]

I am a (relatively) new real estate investor. I fall pretty well into the category of "accidental" investor, having bought a home right out of college and then renting it out when a pretty fast-moving career opportunity came up to move from MN to AZ. Granted, I'd read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" in college and become fairly interested then, but it took me almost 10 years to get serious and end up having anything you could consider a cash flowing investment.

Here I am now, and I've been heavy on the education path for the last 3 - 6 months. I listen to Bigger Pockets Podcast when I'm driving, getting ready for work, cooking, cleaning, etc. I'm starting to get through a number of books on the subject. Now it's time to take action, though I will continue to educate myself throughout my real estate investment career.

Short-term goal: Rental property; need SDIRA setup help!

I am now ready to really begin networking in earnest and learn what few things I need to fuel my plans for action! In the short term, I'm looking to buy a rental with a self-directed IRA. I'm vetting companies and plans for this, as well as how to structure things. I plan on a checkbook IRA, from what I've learned so far. If anyone has a great SDIRA company and/or legal and/or CPA references that can help me get set up, I'd appreciate your thoughts!

Short-term goal: Build up wholesaling practice, need ops advice and cash buyers / needs education!

The other short term action I'm taking is to get into wholesaling. I'm developing my own website, working with my girlfriend (a print and graphic designer) on marketing materials, and developing my marketing plan to generate leads. The problem is, while I've learned that List Source is a great way to build mailing lists, there's a step or two in between this knowledge and getting an effective system in place. Is anyone willing to help a newbie clueless in this area figure out how the operations work for that? I'll insist on working out some sort of compensation for your time and knowledge!

Similarly, I plan on doing business in a very transparent manner and in a way that the cash buyers I work with will be very happy to see a message from me. To accomplish this I really need to understand how landlords and house flippers look at deals. As luck should have it my day job has me regularly estimating, which tends to be a very transferable skill, provided you understand the nuances of the thing being estimated. Again, I'll insist on compensating you for your time and knowledge, though on this track the better the knowledge the more likely I'll send great leads your way.

For all of my information asks, I'd really love to meet someone face-to-face to chat. If you're in the Phoenix valley, I'll buy you a meal for your help. Just let me know via a message that you can help, with what, when you can meet, and where is best for you!

Thanks to all who bothered to read this post. I'm SUPER stoked to get started in earnest, and would love to chat with anyone and everyone that's willing!