New Member from Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia

[Colin Eilts]

Hello BP!

My name is Colin and I have been a BP member for over two years but have just been lurking until now. I recently went Pro and am seeking to engage with the community.  I am a little nervous about the loss of anonymity; but, everyone seems so nice and helpful and I would like to be a part of it all.

I am a newbie investor from Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, with only my two bedroom condo that I am house-hacking. The rent that I receive doesn't cover all of my housing expenses but it does cover most. I am planning on living here for the next five years. I was hoping that I could turn my condo into a full-time rental when I move away; but, depending on what the market is like, it may make more sense to sell. I guess time will tell.

I can’t exactly remember how I found BP; but, it was probably through Internet searching or someone in the personal finance / early retirement blogosphere. It just kept coming up and I found it to be a vast resource with answers to many of my newbie questions and an exciting and energetic community dedicated to real estate investing.

I think my real estate story is pretty similar to many people, especially those working for the government, in the Washington, DC area. I started my search locally in the DC area (my heart still skips a beat at the thought of a townhome with an English basement) but everything here is way too expensive and 2-4 unit multifamilies in DC are mythical. So, like many others I imagine, I turned my eyes towards nearby Baltimore and Richmond, but those areas come with their own unique challenges and appear best for investors with extensive local knowledge or on-the-ground experience. After that, I started looking towards the Midwest and turnkey operations. Unfortunately, the turnkey sales-pitch is often misleading and once I run my own numbers the sky-high-ROI turns into a sub-10% offering in an area where I have no knowledge. In moments of frustration with searching for properties online, I sometimes think about real estate crowdfunding operations where you can buy into a fund yielding 8-10% with the click of a button. I am eager to finally lock down that first property but I need to remind myself to practice patience so that I don't make a poor investment decision out of desperation. I would one day like to be diversified in markets across the nation (or maybe even internationally at some point) but am working on developing my knowledge of a few key markets in which I can get my feet wet first.

I am sitting on some cash, have a regular stream of funds coming in, and am actively looking for deals. My short-term goal is to generate $25,000 a year with buy-and-hold investing and my stretch goal is $100,000 a year by 2021. Right now, I am seeking out properties that have around, or greater than, 15% risk-adjusted COCROI and are in decent neighborhoods to help me achieve those goals.

I have read the beginners guides, Brandon Turner's books, listen to all the podcasts, participate in webinars, and lurk daily on the site. I am always seeking new information to help me grow my enterprises and new friends with whom to share my affinity for real estate.

BiggerPockets has truly changed my life and I look forward to interacting with everyone.

Best wishes,

Colin

[Mark Owens]

Hello,

If you can make it up to Baltimore on a Friday we have a regular lunch at noon at 2601 Wilkens Avenue. There are usually between 15-25 people there if varying levels of experience. It would be a good start if you are planning on investing up here. You can get referrals to the same people that we use.

Anyway, congrats on your goals. They are very doable.

Mark

[Ned Carey]

@Colin Eilts welcome to BP and thanks for such an in depth intro.  Baltimore or PG county are doable. It will just take you some time to learn the market. That is OK, real estate is a long term investment. You don't have to buy today to be successful in it. 

If you want to learn baltimore, @Mark Owens lunches are one of the best places to do it.

[Colin Eilts]

@Mark Owens   Thank you for the invite!  Might be tough to do with my regular work schedule; but, if a Friday ever opens up, I might take you up on that.  Also, thank you for the support about my goals.  Sometimes they seem so far away.  I will get there though!

[Colin Eilts]

@Ned Carey  Thank you for the warm welcome.  I have been reading your posts on the forum for a long time. It's a bit surreal to actually hear from you directly.  Haha.

[James Wise]

Welcome aboard @Colin Eilts

[Jon Deavers]

@Colin Eilts

Welcome to BP! I'll extend an invitation to Richmond as well if you're ever in the area and would like to catch up and learn more about the city and surrounding areas. We've seen the market heat up over the last year but there are still far better deals here than the DC area. Like you said it all comes down to having a working knowledge of the area and what it has to offer. Best of luck with your investing career!

[Hank Keller]

Welcome to BP @Colin Eilts! If you decide to go down a path of Turnkey Rentals, look me up. I've been using the same company out of Indianapolis for the past four years, have 8 properties with them and on average yield over 7% and 16% appreciation.

Would love to walk you through the ins and outs of TK.

Hank

[Colin Eilts]

Thanks @James Wise!  I was secretly hoping I would get one of your "welcomes."  You and your company are part of what drew me to BP originally when I came across some of your content.  I really enjoyed your podcast episode too!

[Colin Eilts]

Thanks @Jon Deavers!  I may have to seriously take you up on that.  I'm not in Richmond too often but it's only a short drive away.  I looked into Richmond a few years back but it didn't quite seem like a match for me.  I'll add it to my further research pile and reach out if I ever get the itch to swing through!

[Colin Eilts]

Thanks @Hank Keller!  Indianapolis is on my shortlist and I do have some familiarity with it.  I just have never quite been able to find the neighborhood + property type + team combo to make things work for me there; but, I have come close a few times.  I definitely get the appeal of turnkey; but, am not sure I am ready to trade away my returns for the ease of it at this early stage of my career.  I've done a bit of TK research and have talked over the phone and signed up with some of the bigger TK companies but am not finding properties that I cam comfortable with that give me the returns I am looking for.

[Ayana Miller]

Welcome and thanks for sharing, @Colin Eilts! 

So many parts of your story resonate with me. From stumbling upon BP to realizing that DC multi-family properties are mythical, I can definitely relate! I live right down the road in Del Ray.

For many of those reasons and more, my husband (@Renard Miller) and I invest a little further south from Richmond,VA (it also happens to be the area where we grew up). Nevertheless, we're always looking to connect with folks in the DMV area in the event that we do spot opportunities for collaboration!

[Troy Luster]

Welcome to BP!

[Colin Eilts]

Thanks for the welcome @Ayana Miller!  Glad to e-meet someone in the area.  Del Ray is a nice neighborhood that I need get over to more often.  Richmond seems interesting; I just don't have enough experience there yet myself.   From my few times visiting, it definitely seems like a town where local knowledge is key.  

[Colin Eilts]

Thanks @Troy Luster!  Glad to be here.

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

@Colin Eilts

Welcome to the BP family! Great that you joined the site! Here are some recommendations for you:

Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet
Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts
Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing
Check out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/

Wishing you the best!

[James Wise]

Originally posted by @Colin Eilts:

Thanks @James Wise!  I was secretly hoping I would get one of your "welcomes."  You and your company are part of what drew me to BP originally when I came across some of your content.  I really enjoyed your podcast episode too!

Glad to hear that Colin. Thanks for the love.

[Ozzy Sirimsi]

Hi @Colin Eilts

Congrats on finally deciding to move forward :))

 As far as Baltimore goes, you can ask me or any other Baltimorean here to get the knowledge about it. It is not that hard to figure it out, just ask questions and pay attention to numbers. 

Good luck!!!

[Andy O'Neal]

Colin Eilts , welcome! I'm in a same (have some capital, starting out, looking at Baltimore after longing for D.C.) and different (can fully dedicate my time to learning a market) situation. I've liked what I've seen from Baltimore so far... it seems to have a little of everything. It also has every possible way to screw up. That said, I've driven between D.C. and Baltimore four times in the last eight days and it hasn't gotten old yet. I can say that the Baltimore pros are welcoming and the city is fun to poke around. Best of luck with which ever way you go.

[Colin Eilts]

Thanks for the links @Dmitriy Fomichenko!

[Colin Eilts]

Thanks @Ozzy Sirimsi!  Will do!

[Colin Eilts]

Thanks @Andy O'Neal!  That sounds like a fair assessment of Baltimore.  Haha.  I wish you the best of luck with it!

[Rudy Mareno]

Hi Colin.  I'm on Duke Street, Alexandria.  Do you want to grab a beer one of these days?  I just purchased my first investment property inside the beltway and I am eager to talk about the next steps and future investments.  

[Colin Eilts]

Hi @Rudy Mareno!  Old Town, real estate, and beer are three of my favorite things.  I would love to grab a beer, hear about your investment, and talk about future investments.  I will send you a PM to connect.