Newbie from Bronx,NY

[Willie Abad]

Hello BP!

I'm Willie and I'm a native New Yorker who was raised in Northern Manhattan. I left to Massachusetts for school (Umass @ Amherst) and came back after graduation. Today I am a Senior Risk Engineer by day and been at the same company for 15 years. I've spent the last 4 years residing in the Kingsbridge/Riverdale Area of the Bronx.

I recently celebrated my 38th Bday and had one of those what am I doing with my life moments after listening to a Tim Ferriss podcast interview with Mr. Money Mustache. It gave me a rude awakening about the current path I'm on to retire at 60+.  Right there and then I decided I would do whatever it takes to achieve Early Retirement/ Financial Independence. The path to Bigger Pockets was not a smooth ride lol, however it started with the Ferriss podcast --> Mr. Money Mustache blog --> Mad Fientist blog/podcast --> Interview with Chad Carson --> Coach Carson site --> and finally Biggerpockets.com.

I signed up last week on March 9th.  Since being here I've listened/watched 25 podcasts, read dozens of articles, read dozens of forum posts, purchased the Book On Investing in RE with No (and low) Money Down, and watched two webinars.  Then as of yesterday I took the plunge and purchased the Pro membership with a Tony Robbins quote on mind.  "If you let your learning lead to knowledge you become a fool. If you let your learning lead to action you become wealthy."

Now in regards to real estate I am a newbie, having no experience outside of apartment hunting. I honestly am not sure why I never ventured into this realm until now. I think subconsciously I thought it wasn't for me. 

My RE goals are:

1. To learn as much as possible over the next 60 days.

2. To purchase a primary residence a small multi-family within 6-12 months with the assistance of FHA/203K loan and/or any other loans I'm eligible for as a 1st time home buyer so I may live as closely to free as possible.

3. To attain at least 1-2 buy-and-hold properties via House Hack or as a RE Investor a year for a period of 5 years.

4.Continue to learn and add tools to my toolbox-Brandon plug.

Regarding my first home /house hack:

• I have some money in taxable investment accounts and have a nice sum in my 401k I would tap into as a loan.
• Created a list of lenders from referrals who have FHA/203k loan experience and Preferred 203k lenders from HUD. I plan on contacting them to find the best pre-qualified offer.
• Created a list of agents with FHA/203k loan experience mixed with HUD registered agents.
• Made a initial list of local certified 203k contractors.
• Plan to look for properties in Westchester County, Putnam County, Rockland County, Orange County, Bergen County, Hudson County, and Essex County. 
•  Looked into some local reia's and groups on meetup.com but what I saw kinda felt like it was all pitch related. Maybe I was looking at the wrong groups.  

But I digress this was supposed to be a Introduction! Nonetheless, I'm happy to be here and I hope to be active on the forums.

Lastly, ALL ADVICE, SUGGESTIONS, and TIPS are Welcome! I want to soak up as much as possible.

Willie