Checking in from Iceland

[Jónas Tryggvi Stefánsson]

Hello. I'm Jónas Tryggvi Stefánsson, from the capital region of Iceland.

I'm a computer scientist by trade since 2013, when I obtained my bachelor degree, and work as a software developer in a bank in the capital, Reykjavík.

Ever since I came across the Millionaire Fastlane by MJ Demarco a few years ago I've been fascinated by entrepreneurship and the idea of working hard now for multiple streams of income, automation and eventual passive income as a fruit of the hard labour. I've consumed countless books related to the topic and I've shaped my mind by various sources, while trying to avoid gurus without a track record. 

While I have a nice job I like the idea of not being reliant on it. One of my big goals is to provide a service online for a lot of people, effectively providing a lot of value in exchange for a small fee. 

I intend to implement this plan but I've come across real estate investing as a potential stream on top of the current plan and the current day job.

I'm seriously looking into investing into a duplex, potentially with a friend of mine who's a handyman. We happen to have access to a mentor who's a seasoned veteran in the field and has already taught us a lot. Nothing official has happened yet but these are my first steps and we are actively looking for our first deal.

I've done my fair share of studying in the topic of real estate investing already, as I like to be prepared. I came across the bigger pockets forum after reading Brandon Turner's book on rental property investing. I've also read his book on managing rental properties and watched a couple of PB webinars. Finally I've read the ABCs of real estate investing by Ken McElroy and I'm in the final chapters of Mark Ferguson's "Build a Rental Property Empire".

At last I've analysed a few actual properties to estimate their profitability, I.e. by looking at variables such as the cashflow, CoCROI, debt to income ratio, operating expense ratio and the rent to price ratio to get a grasp of which properties have a potential. 

My problem in the past has been analysis paralysis. I Intend to start implementing. Having a partner who I trust and has skills and the ability to keep me (us) accountable is helping alresdy. The forum is also already helping me in taking the first steps. Thanks a lot so far and hopefully I'll be able to provide some value back in the future.

Cheers!