New from Minot, North Dakota

[Jolu Talampas]

Hello everyone, my name is Jolu Talampas from littletown Minot, in the great northern plains of North Dakota. 

I currently have an ailing mother and grandmother who I need to be financially responsible for. In addition, I wish to start a family of my own, but with my current financial situation, I will be unable to support my family. I am active duty Air Force with a degree in mechanical engineering and a master's in environmental engineering. I'm assigned to the base in the area and as a single person, my salary is more than enough to support me and let me live a life of relative luxury. But with the future in mind, I know this salary will not be enough.

A friend of mine and I have been talking about investments and he got me interested in real estate investing. I watched youtube videos of Grant Cardone, which led me to videos of Brandon Turner and eventually, BiggerPockets.com

I am currently interested in investing in buy and hold properties for rental until I can amass a passive income of $10-15k/month, after which I will consider expanding and trying out the other forms of real estate investing.

I love this country and the opportunities and new life it has given me (I'm a naturalized citizen from the Philippines), so I am planning to do real estate investing on the side while continuing to serve in the armed forces so I can continue to give back to the country. It will definitely be a nice thing when I know that I am financially free, and that I don't have to worry about competing with peers for promotion or the possibility of the military downsizing in the future. I can just simply focus on being an expert on my job and serving the country the best I can.

I am in a great position right now to start real estate investing. I get paid well; with the way my work schedule pans out, I end up not having to go to work for 2 weeks on average; and lastly, in my opinion, Minot seems to be a very lucrative place to start investing in real estate and here's why:

1. There is an Air Force base. Meaning, lots of servicemembers (stable income and trustworthy tenants) buying properties or renting properties and apartments

2. There is a college in the city (Minot State University). Great area around to own rentals for students

3. Oil. Minot has recently experienced an oil boom, which drove many people to move here, driving the cost of living up. Oil production declined recently, but there's a possibility that it might boom again and bring people back. (Though I may be wrong)

The only problem is myself. REI is completely brand new to me and because of where I am in life, it is so easy for me to be content with where I am. I'm honestly not good with negotiating/being in conflict with people nor do I have a creative business sense, and with these things, it does inhibit me from taking that step into actually going out, finding, and negotiating my first deal. However, I am motivated, persistent (especially when I find something I really want such as the financial freedom afforded by REI), and I can handle stress relatively well.

I've started building up my knowledge by reading books and watching videos. I've also decided to upgrade to BiggerPockets Pro membership, to push me into taking action (The goal in the immediate future is to acquire a rental property that will fund my BiggerPockets Pro membership). As soon as I take that step and learn how REI plays out in real life, then I will be able to take off.

Well, that's it for my very long introduction. I'm glad to have found this place and I look forward to meeting you and forming connections with you.