New Member from Newcastle, WA

[Eric Vermeire]

My buddy, JJDawg, insisted that I register on BP. He told me that some of the best real estate investors in the country are members of this site. Based on his recommendation, I have high hopes for this site and its community of members.

First a little about me. I was born and raised in the greater Seattle-metro area and my father is a real estate agent and investor. My mother is a local politician. Being that my father has been a real estate agent most of my life, I am well versed in the business of residential real estate. But, my profession is software engineering thanks to my Mother. She worked as a programmer for Boeing back in the early 80's. She introduced me to the world of computers and I have been hooked ever since. I have been working at Scout.com since the beginning. Some of you are probably familiar, but for those who are not, we are a network of sports sites, which a niche focus on highschool football and basketball recruiting.

On the side, I have dabbled in real estate investing. I have mainly looked for great HUD home buys in the Washington State area that make for great rentals. As it turns out, I have learned that renting homes isn't all about collecting rent checks and laughing all the way to the bank. Most of the time, it is asking the question of where did that expense come from and I wish I didn't have a loan note to make payments towards.

Anyway, enough about me, I am going to browse the forums.