Newbie Investor/Wholesaler from Linden, NJ

[Jay Velastegui]

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to take a minute and introduce myself to the BP community. My name is Jay Velastegui and I'm looking forward to getting to know many of you as I lean on your expertise and experiences to help me fast track the "newbie" phase of my REI career.

Like many of you, I spent my fair share of time studying and researching this business before making up my mind. Plus I spent about 3 years as a licensed REA so I'm not a total novice to this industry but I am from an investment standpoint (no longer licensed).

My main objective at this point is to network with as many like-minded, motivated, self-starters in all walks of this industry. 

[Mehran K.]

Jay Velastegui That's right, wholesaling is pretty much everything you'll be doing when you're seeking out and evaluating your own deals anyways! Perfect training. You'll have the experience of knowing the buying criteria of the successful investors you're bringing properties to as well.

I found this site around 2010 while I was in the process of saving up to buy my first home. I got hooked on real estate investing pretty bad haha. So I read everything I could about it. I tested the concepts on a small scale by renting out my spares rooms when I actually bought my house.

I was able to put away a lot of money because of the rent collected. While saving up, I took the time to learn the business via BiggerPockets and books, straight up. Eventually, I had enough for a down payment and I jumped right in. Things are starting to pickup now. My home appreciated substantially and now I have a decent amount of cash to work with on acquisitions. I'm still saving everything though, to compound the snowball effect.

My advice is to work on eliminating unneeded expenses now, so you can create a pile of cash with the money you make wholesaling. With good discipline, you'll be in action in no time.