New Investor in St. Petersburg, FL

[Matt Ashbrook]

Hello BiggerPockets people!

My name is Matt Ashbrook, and the short version of my story (the long version is below if you feel so inclined to read it) is that I’m a new investor looking to build my real estate portfolio with the intent of retiring when I’m 50 so I can travel around and SCUBA dive and fish all over the world.  I (obviously) don’t know how this whole real estate investing thing works, but I’m here to bust my *** and learn the systems I need for success.  I have a construction background and had live-in flip that I recently sold (in 2017), so I’m familiar with what needs to be done to rehab a property, and I can work with contractors and subs to get all of that work done.  I’m looking forward to networking through the forums and meet-ups!

So, here’s the long version (maybe grab yourself a snack and something to drink):

I’ve been interested in real estate investing for about 10 years, give or take.  My ex and I discussed it, but the thought of putting all our hard earned savings into real estate was terrifying to her.  On top of that, I knew there were people out there buying multiple properties per year, and I figured we weren’t in a financial position to put down 25% over and over again.  So, I just assumed that real estate investing was a rich man’s game, and shelved the idea, assuming once I was a rich man, I could revisit it.

The thought gathered dust and cobwebs for quite a while.

About three years ago, I moved to St. Petersburg, FL for a job opportunity.  I was getting divorced, I always wanted to move down here and live by the beach, and when the job presented itself, I pounced!  I got settled, started going to the beach, made some friends, met a new girl (we’ve been dating for about a year now), and got comfortable.  It’s great, I have a tan all year ‘round, I never have to wear a jacket, and I get to wear my flips everywhere I go, except work.

Welp, I was looking for something new to listen to, and a friend of mine mentioned the ChooseFI Podcast.  She knew of my plans to retire sooner rather than later, and said it was worth a listen.  Great podcast, and interesting guys.  I learned about the 4% rule, where basically once you’ve saved up 25 times your yearly expenses (the reciprocal of 4% is 25), you can put that money into an index fund, and retire taking out 4% of that money every year and never run out.  Great!  Now I just have to trim the fat here, and cut this out over there, and save as much as I can, and scrimp and save, and cut out all the creature comforts and after like 10 years, I can retire!  So, I cut all the fat, and increased my 401k and got much of my savings in an index fund to start growing.  I kept doing the math and realized, I was still going to be short.  About this time, I listened to ChooseFI podcast #063 with Scott Trench from BiggerPockets.com.  He told his story about how he bugged Josh Dorkin for a job over and over again and Josh told him to beat it (kidding, I don’t remember exactly the interactions between the two).  Scott was talking about how the site has a lot of information, and knowledgeable people, all of these people network, and share information, and go to meet-ups, and so on.  So, I decided to head over to check out the podcast.

The first podcast I listened to was #344: "No Money" Rel Estate Investing with Gabriel Hamel. At some point, Brandon mentioned the BER method… or BIR method… c'mon google… BUR method… whatever, I'll figure it out later. I don't remember if it was in that episode or another, but at some point, Brandon or David spelled it out, BRRRR, and explained the process roughly.

That little bit of information blew me away and blew all the cobwebs and dust off those shelves.

I bought David Greene's book on BRRRR and started researching. I signed up for a couple of Brandon's webinars roamed the forums a bit and started looking for properties. I've been listening to the podcasts for about a month or so as much as I can, because you are the average of the five people we spend the most time with, right?

A few weeks ago, I found what seemed like a killer deal for a triplex in a neighborhood in St Pete that is adjacent to another neighborhood that has blown up over the last several years.  The neighborhood itself is improving quite a bit.  However, after some research and meeting with my real estate agent, and running the numbers (on the BiggerPockets calculators), and checking out the zoning (it was only zoned for two units), I realized that it wasn’t a great deal and that more than anything, I was in love with the deal.  Then I found out the deal was under contract, which was what I really needed to dash my love affair with the forbidden (or more realistically, rotten) fruit that was that deal.

I learned a lot so far from this process, I learned that I need to get my financing figured out before finding the next property, and that I need to always trust at the numbers.

I still have a goal of buying the first deal by the end of the year to get the train rolling and chugging along towards my goal.

I’m eager to meet new people and learn as much as I can.  I’m going to find a meet-up very soon, preferably in the St. Pete area, but I can make my way across the bridge, if I need to.  If you have any suggestions, shoot me a message, and let’s connect.  I should be signing up for the pro membership today or tomorrow, once I get the coupon code during the webinar tonight.