All Forum Posts by: Aja A.

Thanks to all for the great info. I'm working on my biz plan and also reading the "Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing". The information above will be useful as I determine my target market. However, I need to find reliable resources for researching local markets and economic trends. I'm kind of a numbers geek and looking for a great way to obtain historical data. Any other useful tips or websites appreciated.

Phil, I'm a beginner in real estate but I'm an engineer that specializes in protecting buildings from flood and hurricane damage. You could raise the building but it will be expensive. The fact that it flooded twice in 100 years is actually a bad thing. It will probably flood again in the near future. Don't use that as a reason to anticipate a lesser occurrence. However, if you raise the finished floor elevation to more than 2 ft above the "100 yr flood" zone, you could get an elevation certificate which you can give to an insurance company to reduce your premium. A lot of people and companies do this to reduce cost. If you proceed I would strongly recommend that you check with your prospective insurance company regarding their elevation requirements. Additionally, if you need help obtaining the most up to date FEMA map, let me know via PM. It's free to find but due to my background it's a quick thing for me to do. I've learned a ton from this site already and I'm looking for ways to give back. Take care, Aja

Thanks Elizabeth. It's great to see others with full-time jobs working towards their goals. As I try to find my niche, I'm discouraged from flipping as my job is time consuming as well. Additionally, renting my SF home showed me that I can be a landlord and now I can work towards becoming a better one. Thanks for the reply and I'll be in touch over PM.

Thanks James!

Hello All, I'm so excited as I stumbled upon BiggerPockets and I'm addicted. My spouse and I live in Cape Cod, MA. I've always been interested in real estate investing but had a bad experience in 2007 when the  market flopped after I purchased my first home which was a "fixer-upper" outside of Boston. Luckily, I was able to rent the single-family residence for a small monthly profit, so I became a landlord by necessity. So far so good on that...This year we purchased our next home, which is our primary residence on the Cape.

We both work 9-5 jobs but recently, I've been contemplating getting back in to real estate investing so we can transition out of our full-time jobs to pursue other interests and to gain more financial freedom. This site is exactly what I needed. I've got a lot of reading and learning to do....but I'm thankful for the resource and hope that I too can contribute in the near future.

As I work on plan I am interested in another SFR or a vacation rental in my area. Any thoughts appreciated....

Take care,

Aja