New Member in Boston

[Mark Terry]

Hello BP!

My name is Mark Terry, I am an Architect and Commercial Real Estate Project Manager here in Boston, Massachusetts. I live about 12 miles south of the city in Braintree. I started listening to the BP podcasts and wanted to jump on the forums to meet the community. I am starting my journey on BP today and I am excited to meet everybody here.

My 'Why' is to create a sustainable business that gets me out of 'the rat race' and into a comfortable lifestyle that supports my family. The bonus for me is that I love being hands on (I have renovated two of my homes myself) and designing/improving properties. My experience as an architect and project manager give me a leg up but I still have lots to learn.

My goal is to start with fix and flips. I have done well with my first two homes and treated each of this as a 'fix and live' situation. We bought properties that needed work and customized them to what we needed while building equity. Also, both properties were house hacks that offset our cost of living. I am great at managing scope, budgets, contractors and schedule. Fix and Flips will be my entry point for REI but down the road I see myself getting into BRRRR and B&H Multis.

As with many people starting out, I am facing two immediate challenges:

Networking - I attended my first Black Diamond event last month and it was great, thanks @Ann Bellamy. However, I am looking to cast a wider net here for folks that can help me with mentorship and building a team. I am very motivated and excited to connect with as many folks as possible. I have started here on the South Shore, but interested in meeting people in Central MA and Worcester as well.

Financing - I have met with some local banks to discuss HELOCs and keep running into issues with DTI for future mortgages. I am looking for alternative strategies to get me into the market and to get me started.