Newbie from Bolton, MA

[Kay Stoner]

Greetings all,

My name is Kay Stoner, and I live in Bolton, Massachusetts. I'm new to the forum, and I'm (relatively) new to real estate investing. I'm currently looking at properties, just to familiarize myself with the process and considerations. And I'm watching the education videos as they come out. I've been around real estate for about 30 years, when one of my first jobs was working for a real estate attorney who specialized in setting up LPs for real estate investors. So (and this was back before computers were widespread, if you can believe it), I spent all day every day typing up LP agreements and watching how the process worked. I've had a number of great opportunities cross my path (including an exclusive opportunity to buy a soon-to-be-condo apartment in Center City Philadelphia for $32K back in 1989 - and they're now going for 10x that, and more). But as they say, "A confused mind says NO", and I was really confused. So, I've missed the boat on a number of times on some great deals. The past is the past. I'm currently exploring the avenues for real estate that make sense for me. While I love the idea of rehabbing, I'm extremely cautious and definitely am not going to over-reach. I also have a long way to go till I have the kind of network I can reach out to and hand work off to. I'm a program/portfolio manager in my day job, with oversight to some of the largest and most impactful project portfolios in my group, so I know the criticality of plugging the right people into the right spots.

By day, I manage portfolios of technology projects for one of the largest tech companies on the planet. By night, I run numbers and fill out spreadsheets for a number of initiatives I have in flight, including real estate opportunities.

When it comes to working style, I tend to be overly cautious and deliberate, especially when it comes to numbers and "great opportunities". I'm not pessimistic by nature, I've just been on the planet for over 50 years, and that's more than enough time to see what all can go wrong with best-laid plans. I definitely don't fall in love with opportunities - I do fall in love with certain properties, but I can easily walk away if the deal looks too risky or issue-laden to be worth it. Love and reason can co-exist in my mind, and they can also amicably part ways. I also don't play fast and loose with money - particularly other people's. 10+ years at Fidelity Investments conditioned me better. (And yes, if you manage your retirement savings with Fidelity, you're using tools that were built by myself and the team I led.)

I am hoping to connect with other like-minded folks here, as well as those whose interests and skills complement my own. I am moving slooooowwwwwly at the start, because typically when things get rolling for me, they roll very fast, and I need to have a good foundation before committing (and of course making the requisite newbie mistakes). 

I'm really happy I found BiggerPockets, and I look forward to learning as much as I can cram into my multidimensional brain. Cheers!