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.