New member from Santa Rosa, CA

[Matt Bogue]

Hi everyone!  My name is Matt.  I discovered this site about a month ago when doing some research.  I've been lurking around and reading discussions for awhile and really enjoying all the information I've been getting, so I figured it was time to join up!  I see there are other long introduction posts so I guess I'll take the liberty of doing the same! 

So, as of now I really don't have anything in real estate going on, other than owning the house I live in (and a condo that I ended up having to do a short sale on in 2010.....)  But I am a dreamer!  I earn my living as a Respiratory Therapist but I like to think of myself as an aspiring real estate investor!

This dream started for me a few months ago, when I was having a conversation with a nurse I work with.  She told me about how she and her husband had bought a house in Memphis, TN as an investment property.  She said they bought a fully rehabbed house for about 60k and have a property management company taking care of it.  She said they didn't make a ton on the property each month, but they made a couple of hundred dollars after expenses and the house was being paid off in the mean time.  This really got my attention.  Immediately I started crunching numbers in my head and had visions of sitting back, collecting rent money on my 20 properties - finally having the time and money I needed to live life in whatever way I saw fit.  I had always been interested in buying real estate, but I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and it's a really expensive market so I just kind of gave up on the idea.  

So that's where the Bigger Pockets forum came in.  As I started looking around, I found out that the house they bought in Memphis was bought from a "turnkey" real estate company and when I Google searched for investing in turnkey properties I found a discussion on the forum.  It sounds like there are differing opinions on this model of investment.  I'm still interested in out of state turnkey properties for sure, but it seems like there may be some potential pitfalls as well.

After I found the Bigger Pockets forums, I started listening to the podcasts too, and last week I was introduced to note investing, which I had never heard of before.  That sounds like an interesting way to get in to real estate without having to deal with the potential headaches of property and tenant maintenence! So now I'm doing all that I can to learn about that aspect of the business. 

So, bottom line, I'm glad I found this place! It seems like a great resource.  I'm really looking forward to learning and participating in discussions and possibly making some connections in a world that's new to me!  Thanks for reading!   - Matt