Hello! Newbie from NYC

[Mala S.]

Hello BP!

I have been listening to the podcasts for a while and I am so glad I finally made it to the website. I have been reading and absorbing for a few weeks now and its great to see how genuinely helpful and knowledgeable the BP community is!

I am an *aspiring* real estate investor from New York, NY.
Long term I would like to invest in multi-family residential properties, buy and hold, to build passive income. But in the short term I am interested in wholesaling, both to increase capital to invest and to find my first good to deal to invest in myself.

I am thinking I would like to look at the New Jersey market since it is close by to where I live. Does any other market within 2 hours drive of NYC make sense?

I would love to connect with other investors in the NY/NJ area. Are there any good REI clubs in the area? (I've been to a few that turned out to be an excuse to peddle books and training courses.)

Any advice about the following would be greatly appreciated!
- A good REI club in the NJ/NY area?
- What market I should consider (within 2 hour drive of NYC)?

Thanks in advance :)

Mala