New member from New Jersey

[Brian Clark]

Hi BP,

My name is Brian and I am a new investor hoping to make my first deal soon. I am in south Jersey and will be investing in that area. I am an Air Force veteran and currently an aircraft electrician hoping to find financial freedom and a career change through investing. I would like to meet up with other investors in my area to talk real estate whenever possible. I would like to focus on buy and hold and mainly brrrr of multi family homes. I am also looking to become a real estate agent and would love some advice from other agents in the area specifically on recommended schools and brokers to start out in. Any advice and tips would be welcome. Thanks  

[Darren Sager]

Welcome to BP @Brian Clark ! Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself. I think a great way to begin using BP is to read the Bigger Pockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing as Josh and Brandon did a great job with it. And now that you're here we'd love to see you be an active member of the BP community so be sure to set up Keywords Alerts for your local area such as "Franklinville" or "Vineland" if you're looking to find potential opportunities for investing, education in a subject, or other members in your area.

Use the Find Members area to network with other members who are local to you or are in an area you're wanting to invest in. Podcasts come out weekly and are great way to learn on the move. I find there's always a gold nuggets of information in each one and I go back to listen to a number of them multiple times.

If you want to find events that are going on in your area be sure to check out the Real Estate Events and Happenings area of BiggerPockets. Here you can find meet ups of local BP members or other groups that get together, network, and have education about real estate investing. Put in your ZIP code above the map and do a search within 25 miles to see the upcoming local events. Beware at some (not all) of these events they might try to sell you a mentoring program, sell you something else, or they may even be run by someone who has little to no direct experience in real estate investing. Networking in real estate investing is vital so don’t be daunted and go to the events!

In most cases you'll find everything you need here on BP so don't spend any extra money elsewhere. There are many great members here on BP who are tremendous resources of information and will help you greatly. And there are some who are just here to try to sell you something so don't be naive to it. Their true intentions come out eventually.

Be sure to read through the rules of the forums here. How you'll get the most out of BiggerPockets is to understand how to navigate through it and understand that it's a two way street. You'll get out of it what you put into it so become active and help us grow the community and wealth of knowledge that's already here.

If you appreciate a post that a fellow member put up responding to you be sure to say "Thank You!" by casting a vote for it. If you're reading through the forums and a post or response is good or answers another member's question well then cast a vote for it. It's our own version of liking something on Facebook provided you're familiar with that. Simply click the green vote arrow under a person’s avatar on the left of a forum post!

And lastly I highly recommend becoming a Plus or Pro member of the site and take advantage of all that BP has to offer you. It's like getting the keys to the kingdom. It will be one of the best investments you'll make when it comes your real estate investing.

Again welcome to Bigger Pockets!