New Investor in Atlanta, GA

[Michael Ehmann]

Hi all,

Happy to be here!

About me and how I got into real estate:

I grew up in the NW Atlanta area and studied engineering at Georgia Tech. I now work for one of the consulting firms in the area. When I graduated, I moved into an apartment complex with a friend. However I travel for work most weeks, so I got tired of throwing away almost $1000/month in rent. I moved back home with my parents when my lease ended last January to save up for a down payment.

My first real estate investment:

I bought a 2 bedroom condo in Midtown in May. The condo had an extra dining room area off to the side of the main entrance, which my parents helped me turn close off into a 3rd smaller bedroom which I'm renting out. This allows me to cover the mortgage with the rent I bring in from my roommates, so I just cover the HOA (which is way less than a rent payment would be and allows me to build up equity instead of just giving money to someone else every month).

How I found Bigger Pockets

A friend told me about the Bigger Pockets podcast about 4-6 weeks ago. I've been going through about 4-5 episodes a week starting at the beginning (cherry picking which episodes sound most interesting for me) and have been occasionally poking around the site. Looking to get more involved here.

Preferred investment strategy:

Long-term, I like buy and hold, and I am a fan of the BRRRR strategy. Building wealth via collecting rent fundamentally makes sense to me. I'm not opposed to flipping or wholesaling, but I think that buy and hold might be easier for me since I am out of town Monday - Thursday and have limited time (not opposed to those flipping or wholesaling though, just not my natural inclination).

Next steps for investment goals:

I want to buy one property in the next 2-8 months and another 1-2 properties within the next year after my second property. Currently I have limited financing because I am rebuilding savings after buying my condo a few months ago. However I can still comfortably save $1-2K/month given my low cost of living since I travel for work most weeks. I have also been encouraged by the podcast and blog with the ideas of partnering with friends/family and exploring different methods of creative financing.

Looking forward to continuing to learn!