New Member from San Diego, CA

[Rickie Camarato]

Hey everybody, I am an aspiring real estate investor located in San Diego, CA. I recently got into personal finance, which in turn drove me towards the idea of real estate investing.

I was looking at my retirement options and realized that I am not in good shape (financially) to retire at a decent age. I am 30 years old with no plan or savings towards retirement.

Thus...Real estate investing to the rescue!

Since discovering the amazing benefits of REI, I am hooked, locked-on, and driven to succeed in the world of real estate.

What's my strategy? Buy and hold rental properties. Since I live in San Diego, CA. I know that the most viable option is for me to invest in long-distance rental properties.

I have a lot of uncertainty of exactly where and how I will build a portfolio, but for now, education is helping me gain clarity. That's what I need, clarity. I have a very strong drive to do this but I'm not sure where to go or what the exact next step. I'm like a gassed up car ready to get to the destination, but the GPS is not exactly in working condition.

My goal is to build a passive portfolio that gives me the freedom time to work when I want, not because I have to. Then, I can cash out a portion of the portfolio to retire off of and leave a legacy behind me.

The last thing I want to say is thank you to all of those who took the time to read my first post and a thank you to the BP community in general. 

Feel free to ask questions. I tried to keep the post short.

Peace out!

[Donald E Appleberry]

Hey man!

Congrats on looking to make moves. I'd recommend attending a few REI meet ups in San Diego. Check the Bigger Pockets Network>Events. I hold one once a month in Downtown and there are some other good ones up in North County I go to. That's a solid place to network and learn different strategies as well! Best of luck!