New 30-something in Des Moines, Iowa

[John Crouthamel]

Hello BP!

I'm John, a Sales Engineer from Des Moines, Iowa and I'm preparing to find my first deal. My wife and I are finishing up some projects on our current SFH and then we're going to do final financial preparations to be able to jump when we find our deal. We are still debating on House Hacking or trying to find a small MFH that we can use our HELOC as the 20% downpayment. In the meantime, I am getting a feel for the local MFH options.

We've been interested in RE for years, but always thought you needed tens of thousands of dollars sitting in the bank to even start investing. Thanks to BP and learning about different financing options, our eyes have been opened. 

The main reason we'd like to get into RE is to help supplement our income since my wife stays home with our 3 young children. Being a single-income family can be tough financially. Eventually I would like to create enough passive income to allow us to have options we don't have now. I'm blessed to work from home with my current job and that has allowed me to spend more time with my family, but it'd be fun to not worry about our finances as much and be able to take more trips and vacations. (And also to buy motorcycles and a fun car, eventually)

I'm currently addicted to the BP podcasts and listen to them while I drive to customer visits around the state. I've even got my wife listening to some of them when we are in the car together running errands, which is a big step in getting her to have buy-in with our future goals.

For hobbies, I enjoy working on cars and motorcycles. I recently sold my personal vehicle since I have a boring work car, so the only fun cars I get to see are at Cars & Coffee. I'm currently working (slowly) on a Suzuki GS500F streetfighter bike, but house projects take priority over fixing toys. I'm also rebuilding a little 50cc ATV with the kids to attempt to teach them some mechanical skills and the final parts came in last week.

I welcome any advice any locals would have and am excited to be a part of the BP Family. Thank you!