Hello to all!

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Hello. My name is Mr. Toad, and I'm a newbie real estate investor.
hehe sounds like an AA meeting, but with no donuts.

Nice to meet everyone.
Funding for my very first property happened today! I'm excited, nervous, and a little scared of what the future holds. I stumbled across this forum and thought what better place to be than with folks who've already been there

I started out with the idea that I'd buy land, build and sell homes, and with that in mind I teamed up with a contractor and a selling agent. Living in S. California I had to build ahead of the big builders and got a nice starting lot out in podunk USA. From there it was bad. The contractor was never in town, didn't pull his weight, and it was one delay after another. Before I knew it a year had already passed.
I finally woke up and realized I was spinning my wheels. Worse yet I had relied on the contractor far too much. I had fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is never let your success be controlled by someone else.

I'd read Rich Dad years ago and had forgotten a lot of it - hence my poor decisions. I started working on my priorities; ditched the contractor and the agent. Fortune smiled on me and I got connected with a power hitter of a real estate agent who spent some time with me and put me on the right track. We got a lender who set up funding without trying to screw me with a NegAm loan. Within a couple of months I now own a property that the bank appraised for 90k over the price I bought it for.
After taxes, insurance, and misc costs, I'm still making enough in rent to cover the mortgage with a couple of hundred left over.

My goal is positive cash flow. Who's isn't, right?

I have lots of questions, so you'll be seeing my posts all over the place. I hope you'll all be patient with me as I find my way though this complex investing world.