Paul Sarmiento from Pico Rivera, CA

[Paul D Sarmiento]

It is with great excitement and the desire for a greater future that I have joined Bigger Pockets. After reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I was forced to reflect on my life and the decisions I have made. Although the book did a great job of changing my mindset, I knew it was up to me to figure out what path I would take to reach financial success and freedom. Like many, I want to leave a great legacy for my family. After doing a bit of research and stumbling upon a youtube video by Brandon Turner, the gears started turning and I have been reading books, listening to audio books and the Bigger Pockets podcast, and watching many of this site's videos. I'm hooked! 

I am a complete newbie. The only experience I have had with real estate was the purchase and sale of my condominium, and the purchase of my current single family residence, which in retrospect, I could have made better decisions with what I know now. I am very interested in buy-and-hold real estate, but have come across a few hurdles in my journey. One being that I live Southern California where home prices are very high, and two, although I make a decent living as an early childhood special education teacher, my current debt with my mortgage, student loans, and car payment are too high to qualify for a bank loan for an investment property.

Therefore, I am currently trying to address my debt, looking into wholesaling as a way to increase my income for investment purposes, and continuing to do as much research on how to start my life as a real estate investor. If anyone has any suggestions or can point me in the right direction, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Ellis San Jose]

Brutally reducing your living expenses will really help you stay in the game.  Pick an area close to you that you can learn the inside scoop of what is happening.  Investing in your knowledge, libraries have tons of books.  Join your local investment club & start learning & networking.

Read books, listen to podcasts, speak with sellers & investors.

Best of luck.