Newbie from Central Coast, California

[Paul J.]

Hello,

My name is Paul. I purchased my primary residence about a year ago here on the central coast and I have been casually interested in real estate investment for several years. Its something I never thought I could do myself, especially in this area, but with life and work pretty stable it's something that looks like it can be more of a reality as a part-time business, so I'm trying to get educated.

I have a friend in my hometown in the midwest who sold his business and started rehabbing properties there for buy-and-hold purposes and he's been full time now for some years. After riding around with him for a day on a recent visit, I think the fire is finally lit. I am currently annoying my girlfriend (ha!) with incessant internet research and reading about landlording, investing, and trying to put two and two together to make a deal happen. I think my best shot is in my hometown area, where I know many tradespeople and have a greater network of support than I do in my new area, and where home prices are much lower than they are in central California. I already know the neighborhoods and can count many people I could call if a given problem came up.

Anyways, I thought I would introduce myself. This site seems like an incredible resource and I'm glad I stumbled upon it!

Thanks