All Forum Posts by: Caleb Lund

Hi Everyone,

I'm a Structural Engineer, and I have lived in Missoula about a year now. I've spend the past 5-6 months learning about real estate investing, and I'm about ready to get started. I'm not too familiar with the investors in the area, and I would love to meet with anyone who is actively investing and see if we can help each other. If anyone is interested please feel free to reply to this post or message me directly. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you!

Caleb Lund

@Lisa Williams Thanks for that tidbit. Structural issues don't concern me much, because I know how to fix them. Sounds like a great way for me to use my knowledge to partner up with someone in the future. 

@Deren Huang I don't have my PE yet. I've been working for a bit over a year, and it takes 4 years of work before you can take the PE test, so I have a bit to go before then. As far as getting to know the area, I've lived most of my life in BA/Tulsa, so I'm quite familiar with the area, though I could still get more familiar with it from an investing point of view. My game plan now is to stay with engineering for a while longer while I build up my portfolio. I hadn't thought much about not being able to get loans without a W2, and so it seems like the best thing to do while starting out. 

@Jaiden Olsen I appreciate the insight and encouraging response from someone in my field. I find it interesting that you took a job with lower pay in exchange for more free time and flexibility. My current job sounds similar to yours in that we mostly just work 40 hours, and they mostly don't mind if i need to leave so long as I get my hours in and the work gets done. I'll have to keep that in mind because, as you said, many firms will demand much more of their engineer's time than just 40hr. 

Thanks again for all the replies!

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to reply!

@Jeremiah Purdum I just thought about that the other day. I have not done any foundation inspections or assessments at this point, but its definitely possible that I could look into a position with a Structural-Foundation or Geotechnical Engineering firm in Tulsa to get that knowledge and experience to help with my investing career. Tulsa's clay soils tend to wreck old slab on grade homes and so its a decent business in Tulsa. If I end up staying in Missoula a bit longer, I'll just stay with my current company and work on my investing in the mean time. 

@Mari E Desilva Its exciting to meet another person doing Structural Engineering and wanting to get into investing too. One concern of working with the big-ish Structural Engineering firms is their demand on your time. My first engineering job I worked a minimum of 45-hours a week, and that was only because I was new and not able to contribute very much to the rest of the team, who at the time was working about 60 hours a week. I'm fortunate that at my current firm, they strongly believe in keeping a solid-work life balance, which also allows me to spend time with my family AND research real estate investing. 

@Michael Vu You are 100% correct. Its not the most exciting thought, but its also situation that I am in. If I were 20 and single then I could afford to throw caution to the wind and change everything, but as is I have to provide stability for my family. I think that I will be best off sticking with engineering for the time being, and as Jeremiah mentioned, I'll look into geotechnical/foundation inspection and repair work. 

Hi Everyone, 

I am fairly new to real estate investing, and this is my first post on BP. A few months ago I stumbled across some videos of Brandon Turner's and have since been hooked with the possibilities available in real estate investing. I've always been interested in owning properties and doing flips and such, but never really knew where to begin or how to get into it. 

A bit over a year ago I graduated with my 4 year degree in Civil Engineering, and I got a job in Montana where I am doing Structural Engineering primarily for custom luxury homes. I have learned quite a bit about residential construction, but I have found that sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen all day isn't doing it for me. That's where the opportunities in real estate investing have me excited. I am looking to move back to Tulsa, both because of family and because the housing market where I live in Montana is much tougher than in the Midwest.

I would love to find a way to jump into real estate investing, but I have a family and so I have to be able to support them. I have been trying to find a structural engineering firm that does custom homes and smaller projects, similar to what I am currently doing, but so far all structural engineering firms in Tulsa seem to focus heavily on commercial and industrial projects. I was wondering if anyone would be able to make any recommendations for structural engineers that they use for their flips, BRRRRs, etc. Also, if anyone has any other suggestions of ways that I could use my experience from my degree and job to get into the investing field I would love to hear it. I know the smart and safe answer is to keep an engineering job while I build up a portfolio, but I always open to suggestions or recommendations if anyone has some. 

To anyone who takes the time to reply to this, I appreciate your help and look forward to hearing from you!