Newbie recently moved to Beaverton, OR

[AJ Singh]

Hi BP community!

My name is AJ Singh and I'm a newbie trying to get started on my first investment. I lived my entire life in AZ, but moved to OR 2 months ago and recently became passionate about investing in real estate.

A quick story about my prior 'investment' (or rather lack thereof):

About 4 years ago I made the largest purchase of my life- I bought a 3000sq house. I thought it was a good investment because of course it would appreciate and I'd make some money off of it. Although it appreciated 30% over 4 years, I didn't realize all the costs associated with living in the house. I was the only one living in the house, paying all the mortgage by myself- no tenants. I didn't see it as a means to make any passive income, but simply as a normal way of life. I did this for four years!! After contributing money to my 401k, most of my salary would go to my mortgage plus living expenses. I didn't save much money after all that. Fast forward to June of this year, I sold the house and transferred within my company to OR to change things up in my life.

About two weeks ago after thinking about investing and a google search, I arrived at this website. Wow! What I found was a goldmine of knowledge. Every day I'm learning something new, which makes me realize how much more I have to learn. I'm truly inspired by what I've read/heard and the strong community on this site. I've been averaging at least one podcast a day and finished reading Rich Dad Poor Dad. It helped me realize my mistakes and where I could have improved. I'm also starting to change my lifestyle to get rid of extra expenses so more can be saved for investments.

My very short term goal is to purchase a multi family 4plex or equivalent and live in one unit, while renting out the others. Therefore, having it pay for my mortgage. Though since I'd be living in it, I'd prefer to live in an A or B neighborhood. My 1-2 year goal is to acquire 12+ units (approx 3 4plex). Having just shifted to the NW I realize how different the market is from AZ, so finding something may be harder than I'm imagining..but I won't give up. As an engineer I plan on having my W2 to help with the loans for the investments. Luckily I have learned some basics about running a business from my family's small business, though I realize real estate is a totally different animal.

Well that was my basic intro. As a newbie I'd appreciate any advise on what things I should focus on as i'm starting out. Looking forward to learning a lot, having many discussions and being engaged in the community!

Thanks,

AJ