Eager to learn about REI in Pittsburgh, PA

[Corey Depuy]

Hello BP Forums!

I'd like to introduce myself to the community, as I've found so many helpful posts and blogs already for my path into REI. I really love what this place has to offer and the generosity that people have towards their peers and new investors. I'm also finishing up Brandon's book on rentals, as well as going through the BP podcasts fairly quickly (on episode 13 I believe right now - you can say I've been bitten by the bug).

A little bit about myself - I am 37 years old and currently reside in the South Hills of Pittsburgh with my beautiful wife and two children. I currently work in sales in the oil/gas industry (I know, I know - it's a controversial industry, but it's been good to me), which I started out of college 14 years ago, starting working on the drilling rigs and working my way up. While I enjoy my career and the industry as a whole, I know that everything has a lifespan and want to plan for my future the best I can. Enter my interest into real estate investing....

I am currently in the learning phase and am dedicating myself to education into the REI realm for the first 3-6 months of this year. I also have some friends/colleagues in the industry who I plan to have many conversations with, to make sure that this is the path for me. While I haven't gotten to the point of sitting down and writing down my goals and plan (it will probably happen this weekend while my wife/daughter are out of town), my first inclination is SFH buy and hold properties that I can build low and slow growth...and evolve from there. But who knows, maybe I love my first couple and want to expedite the process... :) I'm coming into this with very realistic expectations and a conservative approach - however, I do want to take some risk and have been thinking a lot about foreclosure auctions and REO properties. I have no real estate background, so I don't know what those processes look like, but I plan to start looking at all of that in more detail in the coming months.

Anyway, I hope to be a contributing factor to the community in the years to come and plan to get involved in the local community REI groups at some point. So be good everyone and be on the lookout for success stories in the coming years!