Newbie in Sarasota, Florida

[Jeff Young]

My name is Jeff Young and I'm 36. I live in Sarasota, FL and have been here for the past 21 years. I've been reading several books, listening to podcasts, and browsing these forums. After listening to the recent webinar, I decided it's time to pull the trigger and stop making excuses to not jump into real estate again.

My experience with real estate is pretty limited. I purchased my first primary home in 2008. I sold it in 2015 and purchased my next primary home. In the process of all that, I was flipping a house. I wish I had read any of the books I've recently read. The "team" I put together was friends/family. No one had much experience, but they did have connections. Let's just say mistakes were made, and it really turned me away from real estate.

I'm an IT System Administrator looking to build passive income through property rentals. I'm pretty good with DIY, but I'll likely leave most of the work for contractors/professionals. I have no intention of being a property manager at this time. Anyone with information about good property managers in the Sarasota area is appreciated.

I managed to come across bigger pockets after reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad". I think once I read that, I was hooked and looked for "Rental Property books" and read "The ABCs of Real Estate Investing" and "The Book on Rental Property Investing" (Thank you Brandon!). In there Bigger Pockets was mentioned and I started viewing some of the forums and catching some of the webinars. All of this has really opened my eyes to what is possible and available.

I look forward to speaking/working with any of you and creating/joining opportunities.