Newbie from SW Michigan

[J Haley]

Hello greater BP community!

I first started getting interested in real estate around 6 years ago when I was looking up flipping. I came across J Scott's blog site, ended up purchasing his book, I believe through BP, although I didn't know much about BP at the time. I became more interested but didn't have ANY capital at all then, didn't know where to look, etc, so things fizzled out at that time. But it was always in the back of my mind and I would think about it from time to time.

Years go by and I am searching for something online and I come across BP Podcast #40, which turned into me listening to many more in the series, attending the webinars, signing up for a membership, going pro and using the calculators and beginning to familiarize myself with the site and really utilize it more fully. After viewing the forums for awhile, I realize there are many people on here who are willing to help out others and willing to contribute. I aspire to gain the knowledge that will one day allow me to contribute the way I see others contribute.

A bit about me - I am from SW Michigan. I work as a Project Manager and Estimator for a General Contractor in Chicago. We focus on the commercial and heavy industrial markets and self perform concrete and carpentry work. I have an education in Civil Engineering and am a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois. My RE focus is buy and hold rental property, single family homes in SW Michigan. Later on I would like to do flips in a market that will accommodate that type of investing. The first house that I owned was a house that I felt was undervalued and had potential, and I (along with family members) put a hefty amount of sweat equity into it. When I sold it, it was really an eye opener and that's when I really realized that if done correctly, RE investing could be profitable.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, it seems as though my post got away from me! I look forward to meeting you, connecting and networking with you!