All Forum Posts by: Mark Verret

I like the layout of the new site.  Much cleaner and easier to navigate.  I have not run into any bugs or issue yet.  It is good to see the evolution and expansion of the site.

Ok, baby step one complete. I spoke with an agent this evening. The plan is to talk with my lender tomorrow. That will give me a good idea of what I have to work with.

Moving forward....

Thank you for the information. I am going to keep the tips and advice in mind once I get to talk/meet with her. I will keep you posted on how things go.

I am working on breaking into real estate investment. My intention is to keep my full time job while building rental income for the long run. I decided to contact a local agent yesterday. I left a message with a very brief description of what I am looking to accomplish. My main question is what should I expect and be prepared to provide when we meet? I know the area I would like to invest in, what types of properties, what my goals are, etc. I am a noob but do not want to come off as a noob. I will not be a big investor, at least for now, but I am serious about getting started.

I appreciate your advice and look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks Brandon. I plan to attend the local REI group meeting tomorrow night. At this point I am trying to get over the initial fear of jumping in. I don't want to be part of the statistics of guys that lost everything over a bad real estate deal. The goal is to make things better for my family not throwing away our savings. On the other hand there is no way to learn without actually getting involved.

I am sure as I get more involved I will be posting questions and asking for guidance quite a bit.

I registered on this site about two weeks ago. I have been listening to the pod casts, reading the beginner guide, and reading posts. I have contemplated investing in real estate for years and just decided now is the time to seriously get started.

I am interested in buy-and-hold rental properties. Single family and multi-family. The only real estate transactions I have had is in buying my primary residences ( we have moved once). We are looking to build long-term cash flow.

The plan is not to quite my full time job, but to build a portfolio while retaining my day job. I am an IT manager at the LSU Highway Safety Research Group. I aslo teach business intelligence as an adjunct instructor in the ISDS department, in addition to courses in continuing education. I am almost finished with my PhD in Human Resources. Most recently I have become a volleyball coach for my daughters team. Currently 4 and 1, go Dolphins!

I live and work in Baton Rouge, LA. I am looking to invest in this area, but am also open to surrounding areas as well from Lake Charles to New Orleans. Any tips/guidance/etc. would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to learning from this site and hopefully getting my first property soon.