Salutations from a Noob in Philadelphia PA!

[Sherron Logan]

Hi BP, my name is Sherron and I'm ready to take on my first real estate investment.  After years of being a renter, I decided that I was ready to purchase my first house.   At the end of last year, I started scaling back my expenses and at the beginning of this year, I moved back home with my parents to save up for a down payment on a home.  With all of the information on first-time home buyer benefits,  I decided that I wanted to make the most of this first purchase. I stumbled across the BP podcast while perusing YouTube and I became addicted to the information that was shared.  I currently listen to at least one podcast a day.

After reading tons of posts and listening to podcasts, I've come to understand the following (in no particular order):

1. Real estate investing is a long term commitment.  

2. When making a choice to acquire a property, there are myriad explicit and implicit considerations that must be taken into account.  Sure, there are the immutable logistics of closing a deal but consideration must always be made within the context of my specific market as well as my specific real estate goals.

3. Creativity and networking are an absolute MUST if I want to be close deals and grow my real estate portfolio.

4.  Don't catch a case of analysis paralysis; get educated, get your financing in order, decide on a course of action and implement your plan!  

Thus far, I've decided that I'm going to house-hack a multifamily residential property.  Right now, I'm in the process of obtaining financing so in the interim, I've been familiarizing myself with what's available in Philadelphia right now in the multifamily sector. I've also been analyzing the numbers on various multifamily units that are for sale in the city (every day) in order to formulate a solid criteria for my purchase.

I'm so glad that the BP community is here because there is a wealth of knowledge to be garnered on this site.  Thank you BP community!!

[Paulette Midgette]

Way to go Sherron and good luck!  Please update us on your progress.  One piece of advice I would share with you.  When investing via the house hacking method consider the home's appreciation and the future sale of your property.  Complete an in-depth vetting of the area you are planning to purchase in.  Look at the neighborhood trends, whose moving in and who is moving out.  What are the plans for the neighborhood commercial districts, what city initiatives will positively or negatively impact the area, etc.