First Post Here! Looking to Start Building My Team!

[Justin McElroy]

First off I would like to say thank you to everyone that contributes here.  The wealth of knowledge than can be obtained is incredible and I am happy to have stumbled across BP and more importantly this NJ sub forum.

A little bit about myself - I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit growing up (started a small landscaping company in HS to get me through college), however, I fell into the trap of "you need to get a good degree, then a good job, with a good company."  So I went on to get my accounting degree from Kean University and then on to get my CPA.  Here I am several years later, still stuck in the wheel working for the man.  Luckily, I work for a great company who values it's employees, however, I still don't feel fulfilled and I feel tied down and not free to make my own decisions.  This is why I am now getting into Real Estate investing.  I'm brand new to real estate, because I was always told how difficult it is to buy a house, let alone invest in a property, but now I have learned that is all simply not true (I do know it is not easy, per se, but it is attainable with some hard work and diligence!)

If you're still reading this, thank you!  So, right now I'm at the point where, I'm just getting off the ground.  Luckily, my amazing wife is completely on board with this and we've put a plan together to save as much as possible in the upcoming months to hopefully be able to close on our first investment property by the fall (if not sooner).

While we are saving I would love to start connecting with people to develop my team, and I'm hoping you guys can help.  I know this topic has been brought up before, so I'm going to beat a dead horse rather than start DMing people here out of the blue looking for help. I know people are busy and don't want to waste anyone's time if they're not interested.

What my current company has taught me is that it's not fun to be successful and at the top, all by yourself.  If you share your success with the people you work with you will all be much more successful in the long run.  I'm not looking for the cheapest help, but for great help.  I want to build a team where we can all grow and be successful together!  

My goal is to make my first investment, ideally in a 3/4-plex in the Hudson County area, although I am also open to a Duplex as well if the deal is right, and I'm looking to be able to connect with like minded individuals in the following areas:

- Agent - someone who wouldn't mind working with a new investor, and has experience/knowledge working in the Hudson County area (which is where I currently reside - I'm in West New York to be specific)

- Bank - I would love to be able to work with a community bank/credit union, as I prefer to be able to give back to the small businesses within the community rather than fill the pockets of the big banks. I would like to get information on qualifications for FHA or other low down payment options. If anyone has had any great experiences working with any specific banks in the area, please let me know.

- Attorney - someone along the same lines as the agent - someone with local knowledge/experience would be great as I'm not sure if there are any specific rules to the different cities within Hudson country that I should be thinking of.

- Accountant (yes, I'm a CPA but unfortunately my experience has nothing to do with small business set up/taxation issues), it would be great to be able to sit down with someone to figure out how to best structure everything for my situation.  I would also want someone to handle the tax filing annually.

Thank you all for reading this far.  Any referrals would be greatly appreciated.  I look forward to connecting with anyone here and look forward to the day when I can finally start providing my experience to help the community here grow.

Kind Regards,

Justin