All Forum Posts by: Masashi Borges-Silva

Hi all, I just wanted to introduce myself here in this thread.

I am relatively new to BP and REI, and I have been thinking about REI in Bronx since I live in Bronx and commute to Yonkers. I have a full time 9-5 job and slowly teaching myself about REI, and I am looking to network with investors.

Do you know if there is any meetups in regular bases?  I would like to attend and expand my network offline.

If not, would you guys be interested in setting up meetups in Bronx?  

Let me know if any of you know of a existing meetup or interested in making a new one.

@Aaron Hunt I wasn't sure who was Dougie Howser so I had to look him up.  haha  Now I see what you are saying. :)  I am so eager to learn because it is so challenging and fun!  I am treating this like an RPG in real life to see how far I can push myself to achieve goals.  

I agree with tracking everyday is not fun either.  I actually noticed that Mint on desktop version gives me little more control that I was underestimating its features.  I actually discovered that the transaction categories can be modified and create a rule based on type of transactions.  I was using iPhone only and I didn't realize that desktop version has more control!  So I just finished my budgeting and now I have a baseline to adjust for my financial independence!

@Fradel Schaechter Thank you for your input!  I used to use excel every month before as well.  As I mentioned above, I have a better idea of my money flow.  Now it is time to engineer the flow of money! :)

@Vaughn Smith  You have a valid point.  If the platform I choose is online base and if it is no longer available, then I have no access to my budget...  I have a lot of options to choose from and I will keep it in my mind!

Thank you all for your input and time to help me with the question!! :)

Do you recommend any financial planner/advisor in Bronx or Manhattan area?

I have been using personal budget app Mint to keep track of my money traffic and I have been thinking about paying a small monthly subscription fee for better app.  Also I have been thinking about finding a personal financial planner/advisor, but I am new to the idea since none of my friends and/or family pay for the service.  Since I have been studying here and listening to financial independent discussion, I often hear that their service can help you achieve the goal you set.  I would like to know if you have any recommendations of an advisor who is successful of making an individual achieving their financial goals.

Thanks!

Do you have any recommendation for a budget/personal finance app?  

I am shopping around for an app that gives me a visualization of how my budget is doing.  I would consider paying a small ($5~$20) monthly subscription fee if the offered features make sense for the cost.

Background:

I have been using Mint to keep track of my financial traffic. I have my saving, checking, 401k, investment (acorn), and credit card accounts tracking in Mint. Currently, I don't have any REI account, but hopefully I will soon so I would like this app to be able to keep track of REI as well. I know that Mint can keep track of how I am doing based on the budget I make, but it seems not very clear to me how Mint is categorizing activities in accounts.

For example, I have an automatic withdraw from my checking account to an online saving account.  Mint defines the transaction in checking account is in negative and positive for the saving account.  I assume that the net cash flow would be zero since the transaction is just simply moving one account to another and unlike bills, it is a saving account rather than an expense.  So I don't really trust "income/outcome" numbers presented in Mint and I would love this app to be able to show my net worth, cash flow, auto budgeting based on my income/expenses, financial advise based on my budgeting/income/expenses.

I like the idea of putting my budget in autopilot mode, an feature provided in Pocketguard.  I also like analytical information provided in Personal Capital.

I would love to know if you have any recommendation or thoughts on a financial tracker app.

Thank you!

@Abel Curiel  Thanks for the request and your willingness for sharing information!  I hope we can work together to work on a good deal real soon.

@Angelica Vargas Thank you for the welcome! Good luck with your REI, too!

Hi George,

Thanks for sharing your plan!  

It is definitely inspiring and I know that I still owe you my part.  I am making excuses and not following what I promise to deliver...

I will get it do and share it with you asap.  It was my bad part of time management...

Anyways, I just wanted to keep you updated with my progress!

@Matt Motil thank you for your welcome!

@George-Hyuung W. that sounds like a plan!  I am still going through a lot of reading in BP, but I think a good starting point is to share what your goal is.  For me, given the information and limited education I have, I am currently interested in wholesaling so I am studying about it little more.  At the same time, I want to start implementing what I have learned so far, and it seems the next priority step is to find/network with buyers in the area.  Ask them what they are looking for.  This is the short term goal.

I think I also need to think about long term goal and I don't have a solid business plan yet.

Do you have a business plan or clarity in what you want?

If not, I would like to propose to give ourself a week to work on business plan and compare to see if our plan would fit!

How is that sound to start?

Also, anyone else who wants to join, please let me know!

I am looking tips and platform that is recommended to keep track of your REI network.

How do you keep track of your networks and leads?  That is, what program/software do you recommend to keep notes and quickly access the note for specific needs?

I am imagining that as I grow my network, it would be so overwhelming to keep track of everyone in my network.  First thing that comes to my mind is to use excel or google sheet so that the name list can be filtered to specific needs at the time.  I also imagine that if I contact a seller who is not interested in selling at the moment, but maybe in a week, month, or year, I want to follow up with them and make notes as I build relationship with them.  As well as giving me a notifications to follow up with them (I could potentially write a macro in excel for automatic notifications).

I also thought about using Microsoft OneNote due to the nature of accessibility from my work laptop.  It was really helpful and accessible since the program was pre-installed, but IT department took the privilege to the software.  I can't download the software and I have been using web-based OneNote, but it is not as efficient as installed program.

Any thoughts?  What is your recommendation??

Hi Jared!

I am also new to Bigger Pockets and studying about real estate on this site for last few weeks as well.  I would love to get connected with you and learn about RE investing in Westchester County.

I don't have much of experience in RE investing, and I am looking to network with people (newbie or experienced) to see if we can help each other (gaining knowledge, experience, finding deals, and doing analysis).

I can certainly offer you my time to help you with your RE investing or business growth.

I am a mechanical engineer and my office is in Yonkers so I can certainly offer my time after 5:30pm or on weekends.

Would you be interested in discussing how I can help you over coffee sometimes?

Thank you!

Hi everyone!

I moved to NYC 4 years ago for a career change, and I have been thinking about how to get out of my student loan debt faster and create passive income to retire early by having a financial freedom.

I am motivated to learn about real estate investing and am looking to network with people (newbie or experienced) in NYC. Currently, I am most interested in learning about wholesaling due to lack of my own money in my bank account.

Is there anyone interested in meeting up for a coffee, and get hands on experience in wholesaling by applying concepts and ideas discussed in BiggerPocket? i.e. finding potential deals on craigslist by calling apartment ads or working on business plan as a wholesale. We can help each other analyze deals or look properties.

Let me know if you are interested!