Hello from Cincinnati, Ohio

[Brook W.]

Hi folks. My first home was an owner-occupied duplex purchased 10 years ago. I have since moved out and rented my old apartment, and recently we decided to buy more rental property.

We started with a nearby single family and closed on it last month. We have our sights on a multi-family this fall/early winter if finances allow. My biggest questions have to do with how to get my ducks in a row and successfully scale up from the duplex. I already understand how money can just slip through your fingers while maintaining real property, and that mastering that will make all the difference.

We hope to start a family soon and have two big goals: to have our investments support the more expensive part of childrearing in about 15-20 years, and to buy a vacation rental that we will be able to use as well within about five years. For now we both have jobs and are able to put any funds that come from the rentals right back into them. Neither of us work in the real estate world, although my dad runs a commercial contracting and real estate company and I grew up in that environment.

I am so glad to find these forums. I figured that there were some forums that were realistic and helpful somewhere, it just took several months to find it. Everything else out there seems get-rich-quick oriented, and I know better than that.