All Forum Posts by: Tyler Bain

@Owen Dashner

 Sorry the tag didn't work the first time, I promise I'll figure this Forum out soon! ;) 

@Owen D.

Thanks for the welcome. I am somewhat familiar with the areas of town but not close enough to fully understand where to focus my time and really begin investing. I've been heavily researching neighborhoods and zip codes online but without being there I find it hard to get a full grasp of where to begin.

My plan is to utilize an FHA Loan on my first 4-Plex purchase so I can take advantage of only having the put 3.5% down and keep my other funds free to invest in more properties as I learn the market better and progress forward. While my budget # isn't hard and it obviously depends on the property I would like to stay under $200,000 on the first purchase. I'd be willing to pay more if it was a nicer property and made sense from a Cash Flow perspective upon me moving out a year or two down the road.

Built for purpose is probably my best option at this time until I learn how to better evaluate properties that can be converted and the expenses that go along with that type of rehab.

Do you have any suggestions on areas that I should begin considering first? What tools do others use when trying to evaluate neighborhoods without actually living close enough to "Drive for Cash"? 

@Larry Fried 

Yes Philadelphia certainly does have a lot of great opportunities to invest. Even in the short year I was there I noticed a lot of turnaround in the cleanliness of neighborhoods close to where I lived in the Manayunk area that made for a lot of great investment potential. Unfortunately at that time I hadn't come across BP to give me the knowledge to pursue those opportunities. 

Hello everyone,

I wanted to take the time to introduce myself and express how grateful I am to have found such an excellent community like BiggerPockets. Real Estate Investing is a relatively new focus of mine but one that I continue to become very passionate about getting into with the more articles and advice I read from you all.

My name is Tyler Bain and I’m currently a 26 year old “young professional” working as a Hydraulic Sales Engineer for a Manufacturing company based out of the Northern Suburbs of Chicago. In my short 3 years of my post collegiate career I’ve already been relocated 3 different times, first to Minneapolis, second to Philadelphia and now to Chicago.

What does this all have to do with my interest in REI? Hydraulics is a small industry with limited growth potential in areas of the country that I want to set down more permanent routes. I've always had an Entrepreneurial spirit and a strong work ethic to achieve success on my own. My goal is to really begin my journey down the path of Buy and Hold REI preferably within the Omaha, Nebraska region. Omaha is very close to where I grew up and is a city that I can see myself settling in sometime in the near future.

Luckily, the company I currently work for is going to allow me to relocate back to Omaha in the near future and continue working for them in a home office environment. This will allow me to really get to know that market much better and begin my “feet on the ground” strategy for fully understanding the opportunities there.

I'd be very interested in hearing from people that are currently working the areas in which I mentioned above, am I getting in over my head by already picking a market just because it's a city in which I'd like to live? Is there success to still be had in Nebraska or should I be focusing my efforts elsewhere? I'd really like to hear all of your opinions on my current situation and how I can best set myself up for a future in REI.

Goal #1: Purchase my first 4-plex in Omaha in 2015, live in 1 unit and rent out the other 3 to start the steep learning curve.

Thanks for all of your time and I look forward to networking more going forward.

Tyler Bain