New member and avid podcast fan from San Diego

[Gary John]

My name is Gary and I live in San Diego, CA with my wife and children. I own a neighborhood lounge/nightclub, the Air Conditioned Lounge, and my wife is the owner of a day spa, the Rockefeller Center.

How did I discover Bigger Pockets? My wife kept mentioning BP podcasts to me and I would courteously nod and say “That’s great, babe.” She was getting fired up about the incredible information being shared, as we were in the middle of buying a vacation rental in Palm Desert, CA. She was turbo about our new property and even more turbo about the possibilities of acquiring more. Admittedly, I was a bit dismissive about a real estate-focused podcast; I was more interested in my business books and marketing webinars.

Was I wrong! (And yes, I admitted it to my wife.)

Some of my heroes have been guests on the podcast including Grant Cardone and Perry Marshall. Now, whenever I start my truck it automatically starts playing BP Podcasts. PURE GOLD! Thanks Josh and Brandon!

I hope to find ways to contribute to the BP community, though I am not a real estate expert, just a budding real estate investor. We have a tiny portfolio of commercial and SFR properties, and are investors on Groundfloor.

In my recent past I was also President of a business development & networking company that has leading executives as members. I firmly believe in the power of investing in people and serving others without the expectation of getting something in return. I’ve repeatedly seen the principle of Learn, Serve & Grow work successfully.

We are definitely interested in starting a free regular networking meet-up our lounge in the centrally-located neighborhood of North Park in San Diego. I’d be happy to comp non-alcoholic beverages for everyone. If anyone wants to further this along, please contact me here on BP and we can brainstorm on ideas for structure.

As someone who’s facilitated many, many networking events I am a huge fan of face-2-face interaction and am open to out-of-the-box ideas for keeping things interesting. My venue has microphones and screens, so from an A/V point of view, it’s all set.

Thank you, Gary

[Cody L.]

Originally posted by @Gary John:

@Cody L., 1000 units?  My hero!

@Evan Bell, the change in the 13 years since I opened my business here has been extraordinary.  And the prices are reflecting that.  I'd love to talk about City Heights with you soon.  We've been looking there, as well.

@Kevin Fox, I'd definitely like to attend your event first before I do anything.  I'll ring you tomorrow.  I'm a better talker than typer.

The properties are not without debt.  So it's not like I own 1000 units that I wrote checks for and own free and clear.

It's amazing what you can get when you buy, refinance, use that money to buy again, refinance, etc. Basically BRRR with apts.