Aspiring Investor in Southern California

[Matthew Hartzel]

Hey everyone, I'm looking to use BP as a great resource to both learn and network as much as possible, so I figured I'd start off with an introduction post!

I'm 23 years old and will be graduating from UCLA with a degree in Economics in 2018. I was introduced to Bigger Pockets by a co-worker of mine a few months ago, and since then have been listening to the podcasts non-stop. After reading Kiyosaki's book, I became extremely interested in real estate. I've now read a couple real estate books (currently reading Anson Young's Finding and Funding Great Deals), and have begun to develop a solid foundation of real estate knowledge.  My main goal right now is to absorb as much information as I can while I'm still in school so that post-graduation I will be in a solid position to begin investing. I plan to break into real estate by house hacking and then going on to build out a strong B&H portfolio. 

I am currently a 42.5% owner of a 3 bed 3 bath home in Santa Clarita, California (Inherited this property). I inherited this property a few years back and at the time was focused on everything else in the world but real estate. Because of this, my sister took charge and got a PM to step in. Now that I know real estate investing is something I'm going to pursue, I'd like to use this property as a foot in the door to REI.

If anyone has any tips or advice for me, I'd love to hear it! Thanks.