New To BP & Real Estate Investing

[Bradley Gray]

Hello BiggerPockets Elite!! 

A Little About Me: 

My name is Brad Gray - I grew up in the small town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma to my mother @Sherry Gray and father Harley Gray. I now live in Secaucus, NJ and work on Broadway and regionally as a lighting programmer for theater. I've been working in the technical entertainment industry since I was 10 years old (I know right, crazy!!)... It's my true passion and I'm extremely fortunate to come from such a supporting group of family and friends. One of the main productions that I work on around the world (that you may have seen, or at least heard of) is Disney's The Lion King. Some upcoming Broadway projects that you should plan on seeing include Moulin Rouge! and Jagged Little Pill. 

Because of the nature of the entertainment industry, I'm hardly working a normal 9a-5p workday with weekends off, a steady paycheck, and a 401k... Often, I'll work from 8a to Midnight for six weeks straight with one day off a week (add commute time and it's really a doozy of a day) - it can be exhausting. There are other times that I'll have 1 - 4 week gaps between productions where there's zero income. I'd like to start putting this time to good use by committing to building my portfolio in real estate and start my journey to financial independence. 

So Why Am I at BiggerPockets?: 

I got started like many of the people on BP: reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Similar to Collin Schwartz (Collin's BP Podcast), that book lit a fire in me... While I have some retirement plans in place (Roth IRA, Annuity/Pension), I didn't have any other sources of passive income. The next couple days began a deep dive of finding trying to accumulate as much knowledge as possible on BiggerPockets and to began using the BP calculators. My first night, I stayed up until 4:00a looking at properties and "running the numbers". If I apply the same passion and drive to real estate that I do to my regular career - I'll only be setting myself up for success.

My reasons for joining BP is multifaceted: First, I want something useful to fill unemployment period in between productions. This time has always been wasted (though relaxing) - that relaxation is not earning income. My second reason would be to supplement my monthly expenses so that my theater career becomes 'fun' again but I won't have to rely on that income to feed my family. 

What's Next?: 

Well, I'm not really sure - I'm just going to try and accumulate as much knowledge as I can until I have enough capital to begin investing... I've broken my next 9 months into short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals

• Short-Term Goals (NOW)
  • Meet People on BP, a network in my target locations
  • Do things that are "free"
    • Get on MLS mailing list's, whole sale sites
    • Contact banks about what type of mortgages the offer, learn how to refinance a mortgage
      • My knowledge is extremely limited here
    • Listen to podcast, attend Webinars, read the forums on BP's
  • Find Potential Partners that need someone young and energetic to find deals
• Mid-Term Goals (1-3 Months)
  • Get my feet wet - buy the first property
• Long-Term Goal (3-9 Months) 
  • Own 2-5 income producing properties

Where I'm Looking:

Right now, I'm looking for SFH's and MFH's in the following areas:

Oklahoma

Tulsa (and surrounding areas)

Oklahoma City (and surrounding areas)

Norman (and surrounding areas)

Arkansas

Fayetteville

Bentonville

New Jersey

Maplewood

Bloomfield

Montclair

Secaucus 

Jersey City

... and surrounding area's

Texas

Dallas

Fort Worth 

Austin

Houston

And I'm looking to assembly teams in those areas!

• Real Estate Agents
• Wholesalers
• Attorney's
• Property Mangers 
• Contracts
• ... and anyone that you friendly people at BP would advise me to have!

I'm looking forward to beginning this journey and feel comfortable embarking on it with the helpful advice of everyone here. 

If you've made it this far - thank you for reading! I encourage you to reach out with any advice you have, or questions about me or my profession. 

Best, 

Brad Gray

[Taylor Holden]

Hey Brad, 

Welcome to BP. Your mom was nice enough to be welcome me here. So it’s nice to try and return that favor. You have such a better outline than I do. So you’re way ahead of me already!! Let me know if I can help. I’m always running numbers and trying to find deals now! 

It’s crazy we are in the same industry from the same town and trying to invest the same way!