Newbie in the Albany region seeking guidance

[Andrew Waltzer]

Hi everyone!

I'm a newbie looking to get started in the Albany, NY region and would love some guidance from a local investor! I tried one of these introductions earlier, but, with the help of y'all, I realized it lacked information regarding who I am, why I'm here, what my goals are, and what plan on doing/providing. Second times the charm!

Who I am: I'm originally from CT, took a gap year before college to study abroad and backpack across Europe, returned to the states to study engineering at RPI, and recently graduated Summa Cum Laude with my mechanical engineering degree. Since then, I've started a career in mission critical MEP design.

Why am I here: in the 4 months since I've graduated, I've heavily focused on personal financial education. I've read Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover," Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad Poor Dad," and Brandon Turner's "Rental Property Investing" book and plan on reading plenty more. I've realized that real-estate investing is the best way for me to achieve my goals.

What are my goals: I want to retire extremely early from my career and be able to support myself and my family through passive income. I have a passion for hiking and backpacking, so I hope to get to a point where I can focus on these passions.

What I plan on doing: I want to start small with a multi-family home (triplex if possible) where I can house hack. After that, I'm not entirely sure whether I would simply buy other properties or attempt the "1039" to upgrade to a bigger property.

What I can provide: As a newbie, there's little I can contribute to your knowledge of real estate; however, I would be able to assist with projects whether through organization or manual labor. As a mechanical engineer specializing in HVAC, I can provide a review on these systems for existing/potential properties and provide my recommendations.

If there's an investor in my area who wouldn't mind me picking their brain, that'd be awesome! Coffee/lunch/dinner on me, just message me!