New out of state investor from Redlands, CA!

[James Gates]

Hello Bigger Pockets!

My name is James and I am a new and excited cash flow buy and hold out of state investor from sunny Southern California (Inland Empire, Redlands). Like many investors in California, the properties here are too expensive to rent for cash flow, so I have started looking out of state. In my day job and I am mathematics teacher in California's public school system (my wife and business partner is a teacher as well) and this profession offers me plenty of time off to work on our real estate portfolio.

I started my financial journey five years ago by focusing on educating myself in the world of Personal Finance (r/personalfinance). As I slowly pulled myself out of the debt from the bad choices made in my early 20's, my interests graduated towards the dream of financial independence and early retirement (FI/RE). From there it became apparent to me that the fastest way to financial freedom was from cash flowing real estate properties. My magic "freedom" number of cash flowing properties for my wife and I (assuming $200 net cash flow each) is 25 properties. Our goal is to work 10 years in the educational industry, build our real estate portfolio, and retire at age 40 with enough cash flow to work on wherever our lives take us without financial worry. 

I am interested in meeting motivated and positive like-minded individuals who share similar goals. Please feel free to reach out and connect! I am just starting my real estate journey, have spent the last six months reading every real estate book/podcast/video I could find (starting with Rich Dad Poor Dad of course). The most recent book I read was Mark Cuban's collection of blog posts How to Win at the Sport of Business. 

I just want to end this (first) post of mine with a quote I read this week that inspired me to finally put down the books/podcasts/videos, make an introductory post, and put myself out there to the Bigger Pockets community.

“A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for.” — John A. Shedd. 

So for those out there who may be reading this post and wondering how to start their real estate journey, stop lurking and start sailing.

Have a great day!

[James Gates]

@Sean Murray Wow, thank you for your input on deciding upon a market to invest. Absolutely I am interested in investing markets that have potential upside, rather than those that are tied down to an old economy. I also agree that SFR are hard to scale at a certain point, but their cheap pricing entry makes them a good start for a new investor. I'm looking to transition to multifamily down the line. I would definitely be down for some fresh coffee (Augies?) and to talk real estate!

@Tom Ott Thank you for the kind words!