Newbie Investor in Gilbert, AZ

[Gem Montero]

Hello BP,

My name is Gilbert Montero, I go by Gem. I’m 34 years old, grew up in the Philippines, emigrated in the US when I was 21. Have been living in AZ ever since. I’m a newbie investor based in Gilbert, AZ. Me and my wife (Kami) both work for American Airlines in Tempe as Analysts and we have 2 beautiful daughters!

I was first introduced to BP by my lending officer/friend that I used for my personal home, Brad Durrant (fellow BP member) around March/April this year and ever since I've been hooked! I've listened to most if not all the podcast episodes and read some of the top recommended books by the guests. I crunch numbers and analyze deals daily, as a practice. I have an MLS listing active from my agent to see what's out there as well.

Needless to say, I've been a long-time lurker and I'm ready to change that, jump in head first and get into the hardest part, taking action! With that said, me and my wife have started the process already on the financing side. We have about 40-50K to invest from our HELOC, Line of Credit and 401K. Good enough for a rehab but not quite for a purchase.

We're looking to get into "Fix and Flip" to increase capital and maybe BRRR it if the numbers make sense, but our ultimate goal eventually is to Buy and Hold. Mainly looking for SFR's maybe small Multifamily as well in the East Valley area to start out with Gilbert/Mesa/Chandler/Tempe and maybe Central Phoenix, I know the latter can be tough though. I'm pretty familiar with the area as I used to drive for a living for a long-time in the medical field and I'm just a naturally curious person.

We’re also looking for Hard Money lenders if there are any fellow Arizonans out there that can point us in the right direction about said lenders we would really appreciate it!

Thanks, BP! You guys changed my outlook in life!

Gem