Newbie in Upstate, NY (Cooperstown area)

[Patrick Strain]

I figured I'd make my first post here. I got started in property investment accidentally. I was a college kid with absolutely no credit or personal assets in the early 2000s. I was fortunate enough that my parents were paying for my education. After a year of living in the dormitory, my father presented me with a plan. Instead of shelling out money for room and board, he'd give me that money for a down payment on a house, and cosign on a mortgage with me. A month or so later, I had a four bedroom house and I rented the other three rooms to friends. This situation more than covered the mortgage, taxes, and utilities. More important, when I went to sell the house four years later, it had almost doubled in value. This provided me with the cash to flip several more houses in the next few years, and happily kept me out of a traditional nine-to-five job for the remainder of my 20s. At that point, I got married, and did what I thought was the "responsible" thing. I took a job working in finance for a not-for-profit. Flash forward nine years, I'm still at the same unfulfilling job, and I'm getting dangerously close to 40. 

Recently, the bug bit me again. While looking for a space to expand my wife's business, I came across a property about half a mile from my home. It not only contained the commercial space we needed, but three two bedroom apartments, a one bedroom apartment, and a separate three bedroom house. I came to find out that the owner of the property was an absentee owner, and not in the good graces of the bank which lent her the money. I made the bank a lowball offer to buy the mortgage, and they accepted. I'm currently working with the owner and her lawyer who are interested in signing the title over to me so long as I discharge the mortgage. Soon, the projects will begin. 

Sorry for the novel. I came across this Bigger Pockets while looking for more up-to-date information about current investment/rental/flipping plans. It looks like a good community, and I'm hoping that I can be a resource as well. I'm interested in the non-traditional stuff, such as buying properties in danger of foreclosure, and topics such as that. I look forward to making some new connections. 

Patrick