All Forum Posts by: Bradley Gray

Who are your inspector recommendations in the Bartlesville area?

@Jerry Padilla what if it's a MFR?

Is there any difference?

Hello!

My fiancé and I are looking to purchase a multifamily home in or near Bloomfield, NJ and are in need of a passionate REA to help us find our first property. We have been looking with an agent, but he doesn’t seem interested in helping us at all. We’re motivated to buy!

We’re using niche.com to research ratings on neighborhoods and what percentage of the general population is renting.

We are planning to use an FHA loan to purchase the home and live in one of the units / manage the other. After a year, we're planning on repeating the process while maintaining the first two units.

We have the finances and credit to qualify immediately.

Thanks for your consideration!

Brad and Mariah

Hi Michael!

Welcome to BP - I'm also from the Oklahoma area (I grew up in Bartlesville). 

Keep watching Webinars - they help immensely. If you're browsing the forums, you're able to hover over certain acronyms and it will show what the full word means. I usually have a tab open with google dictionary, if there's something I don't know, I look it up. 

As for the intimidation - there are so many people doing this. People smarter than both you and I, and also people who aren't... It's a level playing field. 

Hope everything goes well as you start experimenting with deal hunting and analysis! 

Best, 

Brad

Hi Greg, 

Thanks for reaching out - I'm definitely happy to grab a coffee. I'll message you directly. 

Best, 

Hello! 

This thread is a great jumping off point - I've from Bartlesville (currently living in Secaucus, NJ) but am looking at purchasing SFH and MFH in the area (also in surrounding areas like Tulsa, Norman, OKC, Owasso).

What part of town would you suggest investing in? 

Thanks Taylor - I was initially inspired by you. 

Hope things are going well in Bartlesville! 

Brad

Hello BiggerPockets Elite!! 

A Little About Me: 

My name is Brad Gray - I grew up in the small town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma to my mother @Sherry Gray and father Harley Gray. I now live in Secaucus, NJ and work on Broadway and regionally as a lighting programmer for theater. I've been working in the technical entertainment industry since I was 10 years old (I know right, crazy!!)... It's my true passion and I'm extremely fortunate to come from such a supporting group of family and friends. One of the main productions that I work on around the world (that you may have seen, or at least heard of) is Disney's The Lion King. Some upcoming Broadway projects that you should plan on seeing include Moulin Rouge! and Jagged Little Pill. 

Because of the nature of the entertainment industry, I'm hardly working a normal 9a-5p workday with weekends off, a steady paycheck, and a 401k... Often, I'll work from 8a to Midnight for six weeks straight with one day off a week (add commute time and it's really a doozy of a day) - it can be exhausting. There are other times that I'll have 1 - 4 week gaps between productions where there's zero income. I'd like to start putting this time to good use by committing to building my portfolio in real estate and start my journey to financial independence. 

So Why Am I at BiggerPockets?: 

I got started like many of the people on BP: reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Similar to Collin Schwartz (Collin's BP Podcast), that book lit a fire in me... While I have some retirement plans in place (Roth IRA, Annuity/Pension), I didn't have any other sources of passive income. The next couple days began a deep dive of finding trying to accumulate as much knowledge as possible on BiggerPockets and to began using the BP calculators. My first night, I stayed up until 4:00a looking at properties and "running the numbers". If I apply the same passion and drive to real estate that I do to my regular career - I'll only be setting myself up for success.

My reasons for joining BP is multifaceted: First, I want something useful to fill unemployment period in between productions. This time has always been wasted (though relaxing) - that relaxation is not earning income. My second reason would be to supplement my monthly expenses so that my theater career becomes 'fun' again but I won't have to rely on that income to feed my family. 

What's Next?: 

Well, I'm not really sure - I'm just going to try and accumulate as much knowledge as I can until I have enough capital to begin investing... I've broken my next 9 months into short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals

• Short-Term Goals (NOW)
  • Meet People on BP, a network in my target locations
  • Do things that are "free"
    • Get on MLS mailing list's, whole sale sites
    • Contact banks about what type of mortgages the offer, learn how to refinance a mortgage
      • My knowledge is extremely limited here
    • Listen to podcast, attend Webinars, read the forums on BP's
  • Find Potential Partners that need someone young and energetic to find deals
• Mid-Term Goals (1-3 Months)
  • Get my feet wet - buy the first property
• Long-Term Goal (3-9 Months) 
  • Own 2-5 income producing properties

Where I'm Looking:

Right now, I'm looking for SFH's and MFH's in the following areas:

Oklahoma

Tulsa (and surrounding areas)

Oklahoma City (and surrounding areas)

Norman (and surrounding areas)

Arkansas

Fayetteville

Bentonville

New Jersey

Maplewood

Bloomfield

Montclair

Secaucus 

Jersey City

... and surrounding area's

Texas

Dallas

Fort Worth 

Austin

Houston

And I'm looking to assembly teams in those areas!

• Real Estate Agents
• Wholesalers
• Attorney's
• Property Mangers 
• Contracts
• ... and anyone that you friendly people at BP would advise me to have!

I'm looking forward to beginning this journey and feel comfortable embarking on it with the helpful advice of everyone here. 

If you've made it this far - thank you for reading! I encourage you to reach out with any advice you have, or questions about me or my profession. 

Best, 

Brad Gray