Aspiring Investor in Tempe, AZ

[Cole Martin]

Hi Biggerpocketers! 

My name is Cole Martin. I am 24, currently living in Scottsdale, AZ. I am an aerospace design engineer working in Tempe, AZ with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and an M.S Business Management from Arizona State University (Go Devils!). I am an aspiring investor who is beyond excited to get started investing! I have read tons of books on the subject, but completely understand, $20k in experience is greater than $200k in books. I am currently working with a couple friends to purchase a 6 unit in Tempe near ASU, but also looking at a 7 unit in the same area.

I began thinking about real estate after my father mentioned the benefits of rental properties to me about a year ago. As I'm sure is the story with most of you, I began with a google search "how to invest in real estate" and BiggerPockets showed up! What impresses me most about BP is the community. Usually, real estate websites promote their "Become a Billionaire Overnight! training course" for $20k, and it all is absurdly fake, self-serving, and teaches you only the basics you can find anywhere. BP does not have that vibe (besides the shameless BP publishing plugs in the podcast!). It is incredible to see such a large group of individuals in the competitive realm of real estate, working together to help build one another and to succeed. That is what attracted me to BP. The wealth of knowledge and networking capabilities here is unmatched. I religiously listen to the BP podcast, listen to audiobooks on my commute to work everyday, read and analyze deals in the evening. With that being said, I am "tired" of reading about real estate and now I am ready to own it!

For me, real estate is a vehicle to eliminate financial stress. I want my future family to not have to worry about "how will we pay for this/that". I don't want us to be tethered to working 9am-5pm jobs. I want to enjoy my life with my family, and not spending time away at a job earning just enough to scrape by. That is why I am learning everything I can about buy-and-hold real estate. My biggest regret already is not starting sooner! 

I am excited to meet all of you and learn all about your experiences (good and bad!). 

Cole Martin

[Ryan Swan]

Hey @Cole Martin, welcome to both BiggerPockets and the world of Real Estate Investing!

I'm a fellow graduate from the WP Carey School at ASU and long time investor in student rentals around the Tempe campus. Definitely a great market to start your investing journey.  Bigger Pockets has been a great learning resource for landlording best practices and general real estate knowledge. 

I work with a lot of new investors in the Phoenix metro market, so feel free to reach out!