New Member from Essex County NJ

[Al Diaz]

Hello Bigger Pockets! 

I just want to take a moment and say what a great resource Bigger Pockets is! From the educational aspects for newbies, such as myself, to the willingness of members to share their information with anyone, this is a great place to be! Thank you!

A little about me:

I am Al Diaz, an accountant by trade, and currently reside in Essex County, NY (West Orange to be exact). 

For the last 17 years, I have been a Real Estate Development/Construction accountant for some of the bigger Developers in the NYC area. I have worked on the Atlantic Yard project in Downtown Brooklyn (Barclays Center), and the NY Times Building in Times Square. I transitioned to student housing in 2012 and joined a startup that focused on campus adjacent (but university unaffiliated) luxury student housing across the United States. 

I have had a lot of exposure to how some of the bigger real estate deals have been put together, and am now looking to begin the journey to obtain financial independence, build a strong portfolio, and develop the generational wealth that I dream for my family. I, like most of the heads of the companies I have worked for, am starting at ground zero, and am looking forward to absorbing as much information as I can on bigger pockets. 

I would eventually like to land on the developer side, building ground up, but am keenly aware that I might have to start a little slower. With that said, I am thinking of getting into fix and flips to begin, and possibly transition to buy and holds once cash reserves increase, and eventually develop. 

Regards!

Al Diaz

[Dan Barli]

Welcome to BP Al! I'm glad to see you are getting a lot of education on here. Keep learning and growing. There are local meetups in Essex/Bergen county that you can attend to network with individuals as well. If you need any info on them, let me know. (I don't host them but do go sometimes)