All Forum Posts by: Alex Sanfilippo

 Thanks Mike! I'm not certain, this was a couple of years ago now, so I am just now starting to learn the market in Jacksonville again.

This topic contains my questions after reading "How to Quit Your Job & Invest in Real Estate Full Time" by Chad Carson. (LINK1 & LINK2) Some of this is probably pretty basic, but I am very new to this!

1. "State Real Estate Licensing Course and Licensing Exam" - I am not sure what this is, does anyone know a good link that I could learn more about this?

2. "Join My Local Real Estate Group" - Does anyone know of a group like this in Jacksonville, Florida?

3. "Pay for time of successful, local Realtor & flipper/rehabber" - Does this mean to actually find someone to just have as a temporary mentor to shadow? I'm trying to understand this.

4. "Income: Wholesale real estate for small mark-ups to other investors & Refer traditional listings or buyers to well-chosen brokers for referral commissions" - Do you need to be a broker to do these items?

5. "Team Member #3: Broker & Expert Listing Agent" - Is it recommended to be a licensed realtor or just have a strong person on your team that handles that side of things? I'd appreciate a link to learn more about this topic because this is the most confusing part to me so far.

If you would like to help me out by answering any of the 5 questions above, just let me know which number you are commenting on s it says organized. Thanks in advance everyone!

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the welcome!

 I will be doing this again in the near future. I invested heavily into aerospace right before the sale of this condo; my time in aviation is almost finished! I will be coming back to real estate as an investor, this time working with more cash in hand. 

In 2012 I invested in a foreclosure condo that needed a little bit of work (Under $6k.)

I initially did around $2k of work on it to get it to a livable state. I rented it for 2 years to students as it was near UNF campus.

Just after the 2 year mark, I had students that were graduating and moving away, at this point I did some market research and decided to sell the condo.

My main motivation for listing the condo was that it was the only one for sale in the development. I put $4k of upgrades into the place then listed it.

Within 24 hours I had more than 6 offers and 3 of which were cash offers that were for more than my asking price. (This turned into a bidding war.)

In the end I ended up making around 40% more than my initial investment.

Hey Bobby, I'm also new so I don't have much input, but I wanted to say thank you for sharing your story. It's actually the first post on here that I read.

I'm in the process of selling my company and I am hoping to have my mortgage paid off before the end of 2016!

Hello BiggerPockets community,
My name is Alex Sanfilippo. I was referred to this website by a friend / investor who told me this was the place to be to start learning what it means to be a successful real estate investor.

I currently work in the aerospace industry. I am a partial owner of a mid-size aviation company. The company that I am with is currently pending sale to a much larger company. Once that happens I plan on retiring from the industry.

I have always been passionate about real estate and investing. I have had 2 rental properties in the past which I purchased shortly after I started a virtual tour company for homes for sale and for rent many years ago. I transitioned out as the job in aerospace became available due to the market collapse.

My goal is to end up in real estate investing. I would like for this to replace my job in after my aerospace company is sold. I'm believing that 2016 will be my last year for having a traditional 9-5 job!

Thanks in advance for welcoming me to this community,
Alex Sanfilippo