It's been a long time coming...

[Taylor Shapiro]

Hello everyone

I wanted to quickly introduce myself. I've been lurking around the forums for over a year and I'm glad to announce that I finally have reason to join.

My name is Taylor Shapiro and I've been interested in investing for a few years now. Like many beginners, I had no idea how or where to begin. When I graduated from college in '08 I moved from Connecticut, where I grew up, to the north suburbs of Atlanta. There I started a fitness bootcamp business which proved to be an incredible learning experience. At the time I became more and more interested in REI and began reading and speaking to anyone or anything related to the topic. I managed to meet up with the man himself, JScott! He was kind enough to sit and talk with a naive 24 year old and I'm extremely grateful. Thank you again J for the help.

I decided after 2 years that I wasn't satisfied in the fitness industry. I moved back north, landed a day job, and took on the part-time job of networking and finding a mentor. Just a few months ago I was looking through a few Craigslist ads and came across an investor who was looking for help. I sent him an email with some background information and luckily heard back from him the next day. I was psyched! We set up a time to meet at his office but when it came time to meet him, he was nowhere to be found. Turns out he was at a flip property in a nearby town and was running behind. He told me he'd call me back, blah, blah blah. I had heard it all before from so-called "experts". I hadn't heard from him for a few days so I took it upon myself to call him and try to set up another appointment. It was around 8 in the morning on a Monday and I'll never forget the conversation. I reintroduced myself, asked if we could meet up and discuss what he wrote about in his ad and he said:

"I'm sorry, Taylor, but I managed to work things out. I'm all set. Best of luck to ya."

I managed to choke out the words "Ok... thanks" haha! I was devastated! Too bad for him that wouldn't be the last time he'd hear from me. A week or so later I called him up again. No answer, so I left a message. I told him it was me again and that I've been interested in investing for a few years, yada, yada. "I would love to help you out like you asked for in your ad. I could even help you out for free, you won't even have to pay me! If not, would you mind meeting up for a coffee one of these days? Thank you."

The very next day I get a phone call. It was him! He told me out of the 70+ email responses he got for his ad on CL, I was the only one who offered to work for free. I was the only one he called back. I was ecstatic. We ended up meeting for lunch, got to know each other a little bit, and planned a time to see each other again. Come to find out this guy is pretty big time for what I'm used to.

I felt compelled to write this lengthy story to share with others that things just take time. Keep focused and press on. Had I given up on my search I wouldn't be able to share my story here nor will I be able to enjoy the future that this one relationship will bring me. This is a very exciting time for me. We went looking at a few houses last Wednesday. We found one we liked, he called the broker and asked if he could still put an offer in. We raced back to his office and made the offer. $100,000, cash. He estimates around $25K in repairs with an ARV of $175-180K. We close on the house Feb. 11th :)

I look forward to networking and sharing stories with everyone here. I hope this post has motivated someone to keep making moves towards their goals even when they think they're not getting anywhere. It just takes time.