Newbie from Upstate NY

[Matt Towner]

Very excited to be joining this amazing network!

I'm a 35yo happily married father of 2 in upstate NY (Corning area) that has been working an 8-5 job since I graduated from college with a BS in Mechanical engineering. I've always had my hands in a some sort of side hustle that typically didn't make me money, but did provide me with tangible items (outdoor gear, tools, toys/games etc). I started a side business 5 years ago selling collectible toys online and have been looking for commercial property over the past 2 years that I could "House Hack" to live in as well as run a retail store from along with having other rental space to pay taxes and mortgage. Last summer we finally found a property (12000 sqft, 3 story, masonry/brick building with 45 car parking lot) and will hopefully be closing on it this month pending any Covid-19 delays.

The last 4 weeks have provided more time at home with my family, thanks to the social distancing requirements in NY, and I'm trying to find a way to make this more of a norm than an exception. Real estate investing seems like an excellent way to make this happen!

While I'm just starting out myself, I have a number of friends and family that have done this full time to talk with and extract insights and information. I'm hoping to utilize my network and this community to grow and take back my life and have more control over my financial future.