New to DFW and READY to get started!

[Jim Dineen]

Hey everyone!

A formal introduction would be appropriate before posting on the threads and PMing some of experienced and helpful investors on this site so here goes!

I relocated to Dallas from LA (a New Englander originally) about two years ago and absolutely love this city and Texas in general! What started as a 2 month job on the road turned into buying my first home (an amazing little cottage in the M Streets) and now hopefully starting my REI career.

One of my first jobs as a kid was being a handyman for my friend's father. He was a realtor that owned a bunch of apartments in an old mill town not far from where I grew up. I saw his lifestyle and realized there was a lot to be said for owning rental properties. Hiring an inexperienced 16 year old to do handyman jobs on your rentals may be a little questionable but that's a story for another day... I learned a lot about scraping and painting... and repainting... and repainting...

It's always been in my mind that I would use real estate as my exit strategy from having a "real job" and use it to support myself and family at our own schedule, much like most of you I'm sure. That being said, I don't actually have a "real job" by most standards. I'm self-employed and work freelance. I'm hoping REI will enable me to slowly transition out of the crazy long hours and travel I endure now in to something a little more stable and predictable so I can pick and choose my jobs more carefully to stay local and hopefully one day have a family.

The amount of information available on the subject is endless and I'm learning as much as I can everyday and feel ready to finally get off the sidelines and start taking action! I'm hoping to engage in a mix of turnkey buy and hold, rehab/refinance/rent and flips. Sorta like a diversified stock portfolio. I'd love to be in a position within 4-5 years where I no longer depend 100% on my freelance job to maintain my lifestyle. I'll continue to take work but instead of 3-4 months gone (at a time!) it'll be more like 3-4 days a week right here in beautiful Dallas, TX!

I started my freelance career with a blind move to Los Angeles in 2006 and couldn't be happier with the results. Here I am in a new city, a bit wiser, WAY less broke and ready to start a new journey all over again! I'm excited to get to know you all a little better and see how all of us grow our empires over the years to come!

Jim