Small Success-Big Step Forward

[Matt D'Arco]

Hi everyone. I have been away from the forums for some time now. During that time, I've been working towards my goal of investing in my first property in one year from the day I started my first full-time job. 

I graduated college in December of 2015. Got my first full-time job in May 2016 and set the above mentioned goal for myself. 

I networked on BP and found a local buy and hold investor. My initial focus was buying a rental property and house hacking so speaking with him on the phone and asking questions was a big help for me. After talking with him about getting started, he recommended that I start by either wholesaling or flipping. He told me it was a good way to stock up some cash for rental properties. 

It took me a month or two to follow his advice. I attempted a wholesaling deal with a friend from college who is a realtor. That didn't work out but at least I was exposed to the game. Another month or so goes by when I find out that one of the managers at the company I work for is an active real estate flipper and has been doing it for 13 years part time.

I set up a time for us to talk. I asked questions and took notes. He got me on the right track as far as giving me actionable steps that I can start taking. It's been about two weeks since then and the other day he asks me if I'm investing yet. Obviously I wasn't but he wanted to show me what a good deal looked like. He showed me a property that was a perfect flip and explained why. 

After talking, I asked if I could volunteer my spare time with his next house flip. He said that would be great and told me he would teach me everything he knows and what goes into a flip from the beginning to the very end. He does the work himself and is going to teach me the trades. I plan on hiring contractors to do the work but I think it will be a big help to understand how to do the work. 

He will be investing again this January and I will be giving him my time for his valuable knowledge. It is a big step for me because this is now becoming more real. I am really looking forward to learning as much as I possibly can from him and he has already told me he will help me with my first deal. For all of you newbies, don't get discouraged. Keep asking questions and reach out to others. You never know where a question will lead you.