New to the Game in Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill , NC

[Savannah Jarman]

Good Afternoon BP Community,

I am writing to you from the beautiful city of Durham, NC.I have been job searching for the past 2 months for museum positions and when I was confiding in my uncle he proclaimed "its a sign now is the time for you start your real estate journey". So here I am. I have been listening to about 8 podcasts a day while I work and reading when I get home. I had the idea that perhaps with my plethora of skills that instead of finding the hourly job first and perusing real estate second, I could be of use to some one local and marry the need to pay the bills and start gaining experience. If anyone has a suggestion on how to accomplish that I am all ears! 

A Little but about me:

I have been passionate about rehabbing the places people live from a very early age. Growing up as a foster child in Cincinnati I found myself living in many different homes feeling like owed something to the different people overseeing me. Being handy gave my a small sense of belonging so I gravitated to that. Having no one to teach about tools or how to use them I turned to books, often checking out home improvement manuals from the library as elective literature. By age 16 I found myself able to handle most household repairs. 

When I entered college I started in on the house my boyfriends mother owned. My heart exploded at every chance I got (evenings after classes and weekends) to work on her 1920s home. I soon found myself helping friends and family with their projects too. I loved it so much I rarely took payment for my time. I attempted to join several rehab crews but was turned down every time for the fact that I am a woman. Once I was even flat out told I would be a distraction a liability. 13 years later my heart still explodes every time I get the chance to make something work properly or make it more beautiful. 

The year I graduated was 2009... The beginning of the recession. With no prospects in Cincinnati for my studied profession (museum admin/exhibitions) I moved to San Diego for some resume building short term positions. At that time I started taking on larger construction projects for pay on the side. Everything from roofing, gutters, exterior/interior paining, landscaping to woodworking and tiling. I am not squeamish in the least and never afraid of hard work. Simultaneously I was doing admin, customer relations and exhibitions for museums in Balboa Park. 

I moved to NC in 2014 and have been working in a factory for the past 4 years. I started with production and worked my way to director of production managing accounts and anything else the company needed. I have never adhered to the old adage "jack of all trades master of none". There is a fire that lights in my eyes and I can hear "Jill of all trades and master of every damn one of them". 

Being involved in real estate has always been a dream of mine. I always saw myself in the contractor position but with the diagnosis of sciatica and the reality that while I am very strong, I am in fact a 5'5" woman who has no business lifting 60lb objects over the edge of a ladder. The idea of being on the deal end has always seemed so out of reach as I have never had capital and having to support myself since 16 (and at times other people) accruing it has proven nearly impossible. After educating myself more on the subject I realize its a totally attainable goal. 

 I always say it is what I will do for retirement. The idea being you save the best for last. My uncle who has experience in the field sent me books by J.Scott, Brandon Turner and Jay P. DeCima. "Putting off the dream will not serve you" he says. So here I am. 

-Savannah

[Traci W.]

Hello!  I have a full plate currently but my husband and I are always looking for our next deal although we prefer the beach.  We live in the Raleigh area and we bought a condo at the beach and I rehabbed it (mostly all myself and I LOVED it!) and we are realizing that we got a great deal and we should earn about 10-15% return every year. So, not bad for our first unit.  If you find a meetup, let me know - maybe we can go together!  I attend school at NCCU in Durham and have a lot of weekends to attend this coming year, so my plate is full - but if I can get away, I would love too!

Traci