Boom! BP Newbie from the Great PNW

[Kristin Whitaker]

Hello BPers of the world!

I'm finally coming out of Lurkville after some gentle urging. I've been on BP under the radar for about 6 months, gathering a wealth of information from the blogs mostly, via Twitter, as well as the amazing podcasts. Super stoked to get involved in this fabulous forum community!

Kind of a funny story about my first investment property in 2010, a triplex REO in Spokane, WA. I had no intention to get into REI. My employer at the time was REI savvy, however, and urged me to pursue the first-time homebuyer tax credit, which expired in TWO WEEKS. I had no thoughts of purchasing a house before that, and thought he was crazy, who could buy a house in two weeks?? So I did some research, found this great triplex at a great price, and it made sense - I could buy a house, and have someone else pay the mortgage for me! What a killer deal!! The rest is history. Rehabbed and upgraded mostly cosmetic issues, increased rents from $1440 to $2,020.

Time to do it again. I've got a knack for finding deals (multi-family is hot now around here) but lack investment funds. Looking to hook up with investors, preferably a local partner where we can take this area by storm. Currently about halfway through studying for real estate license.

My day job is marketing director. I love what I do, but I am obsessed with REI - spend all my free time researching it, listening to podcasts, driving around looking at houses, working on my own house. End goal is to create enough passive income through rentals to live comfortably on.

Went Pro even before my first post because I think this is an extremely valuable resource, and $5/month is the LEAST I could do to repay and support what the boys have built here. Stoked to support BP however I can.

Looking forward to interacting with and learning from you all!

Kristin