Montana Real Estate Investing - Rookie

[Devin VandenBos]

Hello All,

I am a new member to the BiggerPockets community here and have been diving into any REI material I can get my hands on, wondering how I have been so naive not seeing all of the potential opportunity and diversity it offers!

That being said, I am ready to start the journey! I am an petroleum engineer with a fairly well paying W2 job, however, in the current oil market most opportunities have been halted. I have several years of construction experience and am confident with doing my own home renovations, upgrades, etc. starting out. I also have decent cash reserves and good credit but will seek to pay as little out of my own pocket as possible. 

Here's the kicker......my market is rural western Montana. There are more cattle than people here but I believe there is still good opportunity to be had and I would like to stay in state for the first few deals preferably. However, I do not know any local investors in the area and have not seen many others in the market. 

I am looking for anyone who is interested or willing to help me get my boots wet in the business or has any advice!

I am entertaining the possibility of getting my hands on a duplex in Helena, MT and do a house hack for a year to get started. Pricing is fairly high right now but everyday things are changing. 

Cheers!