Hello from Tampa, Florida!

[Adam JL]

Thanks for the add!

I have a very interesting, very sad story.  It might take a bit to read.  No offense taken if you stop halfway thru.

I have been out of REI for about 10 years. For 6 years, that was what I did for a living. I did it well, mostly flipping land and SFR homes. I did have some rentals, but during the boom before the bubble, the appreciation was too much to hold. I was an assistant appraiser and went to the school for it, as my father had appraised for the VA for years. I was a second mortgage loan officer at a bank when I began investing.

My life kind of fell apart during a divorce in the mid 2000s.  I was young.  I made some poor choices I regret.  I lost my business partner, and the bubble broke and it was all for the best. 

I have since moved on into the Industrial construction inspection industry.  I have a very high paying 9-5 operations management position with an industry leading, publicly traded international corporation.

Anyways, on top of the world in 2015, new, beautiful intelligent wife who I'd met in 2013.  Highly educated (Neonatal Nurse Practitioner), successful and independent.  We just were the yin and yang.  We filled each others weak spots so well that we never argued.  My life was amazing, I never experienced this kind of joy.  It seemed surreal as I have been through a lot of hardships in my life.  December of that year, 11 months after we married, we had our first child (a first for both of us).  

As I am realizing just how much I had been missing out on my whole life, 4 days after our baby boy was born, my 36 year old wife suffered a 1 in 100,000 complication of pregnancy, a massive bilateral brain hemmorhage right in front of me.  The bleed was too deep for surgical intervention.  (I've been battling PTSD ever since).  

Fortunately, it happened in the ER as she was complaining of difficulty breathing at home, so I took her in.  I prayed in the chapel every day while she was in ICU.  I offered my life to God in exchange for hers.  There I was, a first time father with a 4 day old baby, and my wife in a coma.  I learned how much we were loved by the outpouring of support from family and friends.  Needless to say, God answered my prayers, and she survived.  

Anyways, it was a long hard battle to recover, and I am here 3 years later typing this.  My wife can walk, talk, eat, and most importantly, be a Mommy and wife.  She unfortunately cannot work anymore.  Her executive functioning was too damaged from the stroke.  All her years of school, two masters degrees, nursing licenses, and recent certification and promotion to an NNP went down the drain.  She was able to be home with out baby though, a silver lining that most children cannot have these days.  

As you can imagine, the loss of her job has created some financial hardships.  She is no longer paying into a retirement.  I didn't start til 3 years ago with my 401K.  We also have a college fund for my son to worry about.  Daddy needs more income, and more future equity, so I have to re-enter the investment field.

This time around, I'm seeking cash flow as priority, apartments, trailer park, RV park, multi-family homes. It is new to me as all I did previously was single family residential. I have a lot to figure out. I need to make real estate friends again, possibly partners. I need to find that ticket to the MLS passwords lol. I have to find the properties again, relearn current market. It is always so competitive.

I have good credit, no debt, high income. I can do just about anything repair / refurb wise with my own two hands. I know lots of work arounds, money savers. I even have my equipment to spray bathtubs, cabinets, tile, countertops and the chemical supplier in my contact list. I think I can really make a dent in apartments/mobiles needing some upgrade with that skill, where 75% of the upgrade is bath and kitchen, which costs a few hundred in chemicals. This is largely why I am leaning towards apartments and not SFR this time.

I have a lot to figure out, and I am not getting younger (44).  I'm hoping maybe I'll get lucky in my searches by coming across someone looking to liquidate to retire, maybe even hold some paper, what a dream come true that would be.  If anyone has any questions they think maybe I can answer, don't hesitate to ask.  I've done a lot in the past.

Thanks for reading my novel, and have a great New Years!!