Good morning! My name is Mark and I've been a bigger pockets listener for about 6 months now. I've made it about halfway through the backlog and can't put down the podcast. I try to run 10-12 miles a week and Brandon & Josh come along and turn it into an enjoyable experience. I've been married for 10 years and have two boys.

I've always wanted to run a business and I think real estate can provide the best opportunity to slowly shift into it. I'm employed full time in a very stable position and do enjoy my job enough to keep at it a while longer (comes in handy for mortgages, too). I'm currently on track to reach financial independence within 12 years but I want to speed that up and find a new passion. The goal is a flexible business to support my lifestyle where I can shift to be more or less active depending on circumstances & desires.

I'm interested in buy and hold with cash flow or appreciation (definitely no feeding a rental though). I think I'd like to give property management a shot at least through 10 properties to get a good background in it. I do not want higher risk for higher returns. I've got a decent down payment saved and add more every month.

Next steps:

Start interacting on BP forums regularly.
Find & learn 2-3 neighborhoods worth investing in. I want to stay out of war zones and problem areas. I like neighborhoods with proud residents. I'm very familiar with my neighborhood, Bluff Park, but prices are high at the moment. Possibly some door knocking or mail opportunities there.
Begin analyzing deals regularly
Knock out some real estate books. I'm currently reading The Millionaire Real Estate Investor and I've got at least 5 more lined up after that. Gotta find more time to read!
Setup of documents/structures to handle the first deal with the intent of growing to 10 initially.

Thanks for reading,
Mark

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