Australian investor living in California
Hi all,
I'm an Australian who moved to the Central Coast of California with my wife (and now 3 week old son) around two years ago for work (Winemaker) and am now looking to begin investing here.
I've been a member now for around 10 months but am only now posting my introduction after listening to most of the podcasts and reading many of the blogs and forum conversations. There is certainly a mountain of information on this site and many people who seem very willing to help. I hope to be a contributor in the future also.
My wife and I are young (32 yrs) and are looking to slowly-but-surely build an investment portfolio that will allow us to enjoy our retirement and maybe even shave a few years of our working life. We intend to do this with buy and hold SFRs in strong areas and one day live of the passive income.
I look forward to meeting you on the site.
Welcome to the community! Great to see another Cali investor. BP has a tremendous amount of information to help you, but it is only available if you seek it out. Be sure to be as active and engaging as possible. Read blogs, post questions, and the podcasts are gold! The best free education you can get. Good luck!
#2 Questions About BiggerPockets & Official Site Announcements Contributor
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#2 Questions About BiggerPockets & Official Site Announcements Contributor
- Investor
- Maui, HI
Hey @Aaron Mercer thanks for jumping in and introducing yourself! If you haven't yet- be sure to setup some "Keyword Alerts" to get into conversation in your target area.
Seeya around!
Welcome to Biggerpockets!
You found the place to be! As I am sure you have noticed over the last 10 months. You will find no better place to build a solid platform than bigger pockets. The one thing we all agree up on is that we invest in real estate. Beyond that everyone is different.
The key is not get stuck on analysis paralysis! We have found slow and steady has made us very successful. Babysteps are key :) We invest in Central California and LOVE it. The low taxes and insurance make it attractive even with the high property costs. Especially compared to what I am hearing about Austrialia, this is an awesome place!
We are buy and hold investors who invest in class A properties self-managing from a distance while working full time. So we do work on furthering our careers. We live very frugally allowing us to live off of one income and save the other. We have further our career and used the W2 income to leverage our real estate portfolio. Our ultimate goal is to use our real estate cash flow to fund early retirement in 15 years. So we live frugally allow us to invest in real estate.
I highly recommend you also check out- the blogs, forums and listen to the podcasts. If you see a post you enjoy check out the persons signature. As many of us have created resources around our niche (websites, blogs, etc) so checking out the signature is a great to get more information. Make sure you don't miss out on networking is by filling out your signature, profile and pming people with questions.
Look forward to seeing you around!
@Jon Huber thanks for the welcome. I see a few Cali investors around but they seem to be under represented.
@Brandon Turner thanks. I’m still working out the intricacies of the sight, but when I do I’ll be sure to get involved.
@Elizabeth Colegrove thanks for the informative response. Your approach to investing sits well with that of my wife and I, as does the area you invest. I have made a few road trips recently out to Bakersfield and Fresno, made contact with agents and walked through a range of properties to get a feel for what fits for us. Slowly overcoming the analysis paralysis I guess.
And yes… Almost any area in the US is a relief from the astronomical prices back in Australia.
Welcome to BP! Aaron, i'm in the Pasadena area - best of luck
Welcome to BP from a fellow new dad! Makes you look at life differently and value financial independence much more, huh?
@Jason Mak thank you! I'm in LA regularly, it's a small city I might see you around.
@Carl Simon thanks! It certainly does. One needs little more than a new child (and podcast 100 with @Joshua Dorkin ) to spur along the investor spirit.
@Aaron Mercer good luck man! I live and invest in Fresno. if you need any help as far as which areas to look at or if you need referrals to brokers and managers please let me know!
