New Member from Iowa City, Iowa

[Kelvin Lozano]

Hi BP community, my name is Kelvin Lozano.

I've been a "member" of BiggerPockets for a couple of years but this is my first post.

At the start of 2015, I shadowed a couple of my buddies for a few months as they went about their real estate investing activities.

After they found leads, I watched them do the math, I walked the most promising properties with them, and I even got my hands dirty when it came time to do the rehabbing.

In the end, I said "thanks for showing me the ropes!" but decided to use my income in other ways.

Two and a half years later, my wife and I have paid off all debt (minus 30% left on a mortgage) while continuing to max out our ROTHs and 401(k)s each year.

Now that we have our finances in a good place, we've decided to revisit real estate investing... plus seeing the ROI they're making on their investments has us wondering if we made the right choice!

Anyway what's done is done. We're now committed to doing this while keeping our day jobs. I'm an Operations Manager for one of P&G's manufacturing plants that makes a bunch of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and that type of stuff. She's a nurse at the Univ. of Iowa taking care of cancer patients.

We're looking forward to meeting you both virtually and hopefully in real life! I see that there are quite a few members in the Cedar Rapids, North Liberty, Coralville, and Iowa City area.

I just have one question before I sign off---what are some of the best ways newbies can contribute to this community?