All Forum Posts by: Timothy Maldonado

I'm excited! Looks like a good turn out and looking forward to it.

I'm okay with coffee, water or tequila, but not all at once. ;)

@Yashar E. has a lot of great points. It's really good to be involved in the community, especially if you like where they're going. In Atlantic County, there's more and more talks about jobs coming back into AC due to Hard Rock Casino and Ocean Resorts (previously Revel) opening this year. Stockton University will be opening it's Atlantic City campus this year which consists of a Residence building on the beach block, Academic building across the street and a shared garage with South Jersey Gas. South Jersey Gas Headquarters will now be a tower that is attached to the same shared Parking garage which is also on the beach block. Small businesses have been gradually opening up in different spots now. The surrounding towns have been adjusting to the news as well. My town Ventnor City will be putting money in street landscape, businesses, etc. in the area close to AC. So it's been a bit exciting for me to see what's in store for my community, the market that it's in and opportunities that can happen.

A couple tips I learned over the years to figure out the market/community I'm involved in South Jersey:

• Attending SoPro Professional Networking Events. These events are held once a month to every other month in South Jersey and will have a wide range of professionals in different industries. They're typically held at places of new business or places not everyone knows about yet. Just last week it was held at a new brewing company in Atlantic County which intrigued me since it's where I live. I was able to establish connections and hear anything that's going on in the community. I connected with 2 gentleman from an Environmental company in Glassboro that has a lot of knowledge and experience about the remediation projects in Glassboro. Typically these events are free admission. I recommend anyone from South Jersey to check it out.
• Sometimes joining your local political party will provide you with community activities and persons that may interests you. I don't have heavy interests in politics, but the Democratic Meeting I attend in my town are proactive in bringing guests that help in the developments of my area. You will meet person(s) that have long or heavy interests in the area, so it's good to have a conversation with them.
• If you're into social media, finding businesses that hold events is a great way to understand what's going on in the community. In Atlantic City, there's a Yoga Studio that's been holding some great events for the area that involves social justice, developing the area, etc. I'm attending an event tonight.
• Using Google Alerts. If anyone is familiar with the keyword alerts on biggerpockets then Google Alerts should be a breeze. google.com/alerts allows you to put in and save keywords into Google. Google will collect any articles that pertain to the keyword and send you a report with links via email. This helps me keep track of any developments going on in my area. For example, I have mine set to Atlantic County, Atlantic City Developments, Ventnor City Developments, etc.
• If you're into sports, join your local sports league. I'm in the Ventnor City Volleyball league. You don't really talk about real estate or what's going on in the community since you're playing a game, but eventually you'll strike a conversation with someone who knows a lot about the area as well. Plus it's good to get a little fit. haha!

A little background on myself, I have about 12 years on designing in CAD for Civil, Architectural/Engineering firms, and as well as contracting companies in New Jersey. After changing my career course from designing to estimating and real estate investing, I didn't want to waste my design skills and thought I could put it in to good use here on biggerpockets whether it be helping someone using CAD, having an open discussion on layouts or providing designs. After looking through the forum in finding any discussions about designing, I got a general feel that hired designers tend to pick out materials or create designs that do not suit the Investment. So in that regard, I wanted to create a discussion for designers in the real estate investment world.

I have some questions that could start and please feel free to share any stories whether they're good or bad.

• Is there any designers who are investors?
• If you are, are there any sources you use for your designs? i.e. books, websites, forums, etc.
• As a designer, what are your applications? i.e. AutoCAD, Revit/BIM modelling, Chief Architect, etc.
• Did the designs help expedite the construction project? 
• Did any projects deviate from the design?
• Is your field of design in residential or commercial?
• How much time is put into your designs?

Thanks for your time.

 It should be posted sometime today. 

 Gotcha. Well if you're interested, there's a biggerpockets Meetup in Cherry Hill on the 22nd. More than welcome to join us. 

Welcome to BP @Steven McCutcheon, there's a lot of information and people to reach out here. Where are you looking at for your buy and holds?

The 'Building Construction Illustrated' by Francis D.K. Ching was used for my ASPE General Construction Estimating class and I use it today to get a visual of the parts and pieces in construction. Pretty simple yet detailed book to read. 

Welcome to BP, Doniel!

I like the background you have in inspections and construction. Where are you located in New Jersey?

Welcome aboard Michael. My roommate is a fitness coach as well. We planned out how to tackle real estate investing by first house hacking and then acquiring buy and hold properties. I like where we're going with it. 

Are there any areas you're interested in? 

Welcome to BP @Tycee Tyler. I'm a contractor who only works with Real Estate Investors. I will privately message you with more information. Good luck in building the team. I think that's a fun part.