Newbie from Philadephia, PA

[Jonathan Gomez]

Hi all, 

I'm new to REI and looking to start off by househacking my first property. I have lived in Philadelphia my whole life and plan to invest here. I graduated with a degree in business, but recently switched into tech as a Front End Developer. I came across bigger pockets when I met a friend househacking in college and decided to do a Google search about REI. At the moment, I am getting an MLS feed through a realtor that helped my family with the last several homes and I will start evaluating properties with a very basic spreadsheet calculator I created. I would like to continue networking with other investors and perhaps even find a mentor. I am always looking to meet new people, learn, and teach, so let's connect!

Best,

Jon

[James Wise]

Originally posted by @Jonathan Gomez:

Hi all, 

I'm new to REI and looking to start off by househacking my first property. I have lived in Philadelphia my whole life and plan to invest here. I graduated with a degree in business, but recently switched into tech as a Front End Developer. I came across bigger pockets when I met a friend househacking in college and decided to do a Google search about REI. At the moment, I am getting an MLS feed through a realtor that helped my family with the last several homes and I will start evaluating properties with a very basic spreadsheet calculator I created. I would like to continue networking with other investors and perhaps even find a mentor. I am always looking to meet new people, learn, and teach, so let's connect!

Best,

Jon

 Welcome aboard Jon. Good luck on your investing & I'll catch you around the forums.

[Jonathan Gomez]

@James Wise Thank you! I'll see you around.

[Eleena de Lisser]

Hi @Jonathan Gomez! Welcome to the world of real estate investing! Since you're in Philly, you should really check out DIG, if you haven't already. It's one of the largest REIAs (real estate investment associations) in the U.S., and has tons of educational and networking events. I highly recommend their rehab tour where you get to hear directly from other investors and contractors how much it costs to rehab different properties. There's one coming up on June 15. Good luck!

[Brendan Markle]

Hey Jon!  Welcome to Biggerpockets!  I have a couple duplexes in the city, and am also an agent who specializes in working with investors.  If you have any questions definitely feel free to reach out 

[Jonathan Gomez]

@Brendan Markle Thank you for reaching out. Do you know a good contractor I could hire in the future? 

[Jonathan Gomez]

@Eleena de Lisser Thank you for providing resources. Do you have to be a member in order to go to their meetups? 

[John Corey]

Originally posted by @Jonathan Gomez:

@Eleena de Lisser Thank you for providing resources. Do you have to be a member in order to go to their meetups? 

My experience recently is some meetings are open to visitors all the time, some are open to members with visitors being allowed 1 visit before they need to become a member.

You can contact the group host if the policy is not clear. 

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

@Jonathan Gomez

Welcome to the BP family! Glad you joined the best real estate investing website! Here are some recommendations for you:

Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/users

Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

Check out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/

Wishing you the best!

[Jonathan Gomez]

@Dmitriy Fomichenko Thank you! I already got a head start on all of that. 

[Justin Windham]

@Jonathan Gomez

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

This is a great place to learn and network. A lot of forum members are very knowledgeable in their respective fields related to real estate investing, whether that is real estate sales, wholesaling, flipping, rentals, lending, self-directed IRA and Solo 401k investing, or tax and legal guidance.

[Jonathan Gomez]

@Justin Windham Thank you! Fortunately, I was introduced to the idea of F.I.R.E. well before considering REI, so I am bringing something to the table. I have even eliminated all of my debt. My goal for REI is to use it to eliminate my rent bill and increase my investing rate, whether that's through stocks or more REI.

[Frank Digsby]

Welcome @Jonathan Gomez to BP.  There is a wealth of information here for you to browse.  

[Jonathan Gomez]

@Frank Digsby Thank you for welcoming me! I am excited to continue learning.