All Forum Posts by: John Costanza

@John Costanza

Welcome to BP community! I am a new(er) real estate investor with one property I purchased in 2021 that I am house hacking and working on plans for an attached ADU. Minus utilities and cap ex money set aside, I live for about $200 a month and I make over 6 figures as a nurse director. I am committed to do WHATEVER it takes to become FIRE (financially independent through real estate!!)

My second property I have currently under contract is a small cabin on Table Rock Lake just outside of Branson; I plan to enter the STR market with that property and the goal there is to pay it off in 3 years.

I would recommend connecting to any local REIA meet up groups in your area: I have learned about housing and zoning, future projections of growth, tax lien homes, and many other topics as well as grew my group of mentors, collaborators, and a curated list of contractors for my projects. I love to talk "shop" with those further down the journey than myself....every once in a while, I even have a bit of info I can share which feels good after starting this journey about 2 years ago.

Your network is your net worth......I would say, go find your Facebook group, your local REIA meet up and find your tribe!

#secondactplaybook #bebebuys #nurseinvestor 

 

@John Costanza

Welcome John

Everyone here is here because they had that light bulb moment when the regular Rat Race just doesn't work. There are tons of different parts to investing in RE and I always recommend invest Where you know. Your looking at Greenville, NC where your wife has roots, Smart. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge is where we found ourselves settling in with investments. Have you ever played the cash flow game by Robert Kiyosaki. It is fun and eye opening.

 There are a hundred ways to skin a cat, but I suggest you consider house hacking to start. You need a place to live and you want to start investing, so that would achieve both goals at once. If it works out, you can build a nice portfolio rather quickly. Or you can house hack for your first couple of investments and then make enough cash flow to pay for a single-family for you to live in.

Hey John,

You know this already but don't get paralysis from analysis.  If you're in the right financial position to start investing, do it!  

Worry less about the market and more about the deal.  Get in touch with agents in every one of the cities you mentioned and get them to set you up on a daily drip feed so you can analyze properties every day.  

Also, I'd recommend prioritizing the house hack because cutting your living expenses by a $1,000 or more with a hack will yield a net cashflow to your bottom line much higher than any simple rental property deal you're likely to find.  Use that income to springboard you into letting your wife leave her job and invest in more traditional rentals down the road.

Good luck!

Welcome to Bigger Pockets @John Costanza! Loved reading that post just now! I think it is awesome that you came to this new mindset. I really wish more people would try to "break the mold" as some would say. While not claiming to be an expert, I truly think investing your money is a crucial key to a lot of the lower and middle classes people's lives that they are missing out on. Real estate investing for me has really changed everything. Still not close to where I want to be with it but it really has made things a lot easier finically. I am currently a real estate investor and mortgage professional so I have a bit of experience in this area. I am also from northern NJ! I do think that house hacking may be a great first step for you guys as this can reduce one major common burden of almost everyone which is paying for a place to live! I would love to learn more about your situation and offer any advice or answer and questions you may have. I'll send you a connection request so we can talk further!

Since you love to learn (me too), I can suggest a series of topics you need to learn before your start REI:

1 - Market Analysis
2 - How Money Works
3 - How to develop, and stick to, a financial plan specific to you and REI
4 - Geometry
5 - Algebra

Welcome, @John Costanza! Great to see that you are motivated and are attempting to avoid the middle class trap of buying a nice home at the limits of your purchasing power and being stuck for 10+ years unable to generate meaningful wealth outside of that. 

I think that you have several good options here, and think that if you are willing and able to house-hack, then you probably can make money in all of the locations that you mentioned, depending on the strategy you pursue. I might ask myself this (gut feel) question: Which of the areas would I be happy to hold in for the next 30 years? Which would I be happy to live in and be a part of for the next 30 years? Answering that question might give you the confidence to make a big decision. The rest comes down to execution, self-education, tactics, how you finance the properties, and your income generating approach (flipping, long-term rentals, short-term rentals, etc.).

@John Costanza welcome aboard! Like Sunny mentioned, start networking. There are many different flavors of real estate investing every time you meet someone new you'll discover a new approach to it. I was actually talking about Toms River specifically the other day, never been personally but as a surfer I need to be close to the ocean! I enjoyed Florida (Pensacola) while I was living there, and like their lack of state income tax. 

If you need to start building your team in Jersey, let me know. I know a few really good realtors, attorneys, and lenders on the conventional side of the house. 

Hope this helps, feel free to reach out.

How exciting! I would recommend going to as many meet-ups as possible and networking. House hacking is an awesome idea too, I would try to pursue that course of action first.