New Investor looking for Mentors, Partners or Friendly Advice !

Lender · Morristown, NJ · Member since 2022 · 153 posts · 71 votes

4y

Welcome to Bigger Pockets @John Costanza! Loved reading that post just now! I think it is awesome that you came to this new mindset. I really wish more people would try to "break the mold" as some would say. While not claiming to be an expert, I truly think investing your money is a crucial key to a lot of the lower and middle classes people's lives that they are missing out on. Real estate investing for me has really changed everything. Still not close to where I want to be with it but it really has made things a lot easier finically. I am currently a real estate investor and mortgage professional so I have a bit of experience in this area. I am also from northern NJ! I do think that house hacking may be a great first step for you guys as this can reduce one major common burden of almost everyone which is paying for a place to live! I would love to learn more about your situation and offer any advice or answer and questions you may have. I'll send you a connection request so we can talk further!

2 Reply

Joe VilleneuvePro Member

Plymouth, MI · Member since 2013 · 13k+ posts · 19k+ votes

4y

Since you love to learn (me too), I can suggest a series of topics you need to learn before your start REI:

1 - Market Analysis
2 - How Money Works
3 - How to develop, and stick to, a financial plan specific to you and REI
4 - Geometry
5 - Algebra

2 Reply

Scott TrenchPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 6k+ votes

4y

Welcome, @John Costanza! Great to see that you are motivated and are attempting to avoid the middle class trap of buying a nice home at the limits of your purchasing power and being stuck for 10+ years unable to generate meaningful wealth outside of that.

I think that you have several good options here, and think that if you are willing and able to house-hack, then you probably can make money in all of the locations that you mentioned, depending on the strategy you pursue. I might ask myself this (gut feel) question: Which of the areas would I be happy to hold in for the next 30 years? Which would I be happy to live in and be a part of for the next 30 years? Answering that question might give you the confidence to make a big decision. The rest comes down to execution, self-education, tactics, how you finance the properties, and your income generating approach (flipping, long-term rentals, short-term rentals, etc.).

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1 Reply

John Costanza

OP

Member since 2022 · 13 posts · 13 votes

4y

Quote from @Scott Trench:

Welcome, @John Costanza! Great to see that you are motivated and are attempting to avoid the middle class trap of buying a nice home at the limits of your purchasing power and being stuck for 10+ years unable to generate meaningful wealth outside of that.

I think that you have several good options here, and think that if you are willing and able to house-hack, then you probably can make money in all of the locations that you mentioned, depending on the strategy you pursue. I might ask myself this (gut feel) question: Which of the areas would I be happy to hold in for the next 30 years? Which would I be happy to live in and be a part of for the next 30 years? Answering that question might give you the confidence to make a big decision. The rest comes down to execution, self-education, tactics, how you finance the properties, and your income generating approach (flipping, long-term rentals, short-term rentals, etc.).

Thanks so much for your reply Scott ! I think that is great advice. My wife and I went to college in Greenville, NC and thats where her family currently lives. I think that might be what we are leaning towards.

1 Reply

John Costanza

OP

Member since 2022 · 13 posts · 13 votes

4y

Quote from @Joe Villeneuve:

Since you love to learn (me too), I can suggest a series of topics you need to learn before your start REI:

1 - Market Analysis
2 - How Money Works
3 - How to develop, and stick to, a financial plan specific to you and REI
4 - Geometry
5 - Algebra

Hey Joe ! Thanks for the advice. I fear I will try to learn to much before I make the jump and have been using Brandon Turner's "Rental Property Investing" as a guide of sorts which has some great formulas that I will definitely need. Can you recommend any books that helped you on your REI journey ? I am always interested in hearing about peoples first.

1 Reply

John Costanza

OP

Member since 2022 · 13 posts · 13 votes

4y

Quote from @Frank Avallone II:

Welcome to Bigger Pockets @John Costanza! Loved reading that post just now! I think it is awesome that you came to this new mindset. I really wish more people would try to "break the mold" as some would say. While not claiming to be an expert, I truly think investing your money is a crucial key to a lot of the lower and middle classes people's lives that they are missing out on. Real estate investing for me has really changed everything. Still not close to where I want to be with it but it really has made things a lot easier finically. I am currently a real estate investor and mortgage professional so I have a bit of experience in this area. I am also from northern NJ! I do think that house hacking may be a great first step for you guys as this can reduce one major common burden of almost everyone which is paying for a place to live! I would love to learn more about your situation and offer any advice or answer and questions you may have. I'll send you a connection request so we can talk further!

Thanks for the reply and reaching out Frank, I will give you a call soon !

2 Reply

Joe VilleneuvePro Member

Plymouth, MI · Member since 2013 · 13k+ posts · 19k+ votes

4y

Quote from @John Costanza:

Quote from @Joe Villeneuve:

Since you love to learn (me too), I can suggest a series of topics you need to learn before your start REI:

1 - Market Analysis
2 - How Money Works
3 - How to develop, and stick to, a financial plan specific to you and REI
4 - Geometry
5 - Algebra

Hey Joe ! Thanks for the advice. I fear I will try to learn to much before I make the jump and have been using Brandon Turner's "Rental Property Investing" as a guide of sorts which has some great formulas that I will definitely need. Can you recommend any books that helped you on your REI journey ? I am always interested in hearing about peoples first.

Algebra and Geometry...and I'm not kidding. Those two books/disciplines are critical to your true success. REI is nothing more than math with $$$ in front (forget the formulas where the answers are numbers with %%%%% behind. They tell you nothing of value, and will lie to you more often than not. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

1 Reply

Caleb Stevens

Rental Property Investor · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2020 · 49 posts · 33 votes

4y

Hi @John Costanza!

I am also from the Jersey City area and both my wife and I work as Engineers, so we can relate on that aspect. Our stories are quite similar, in that I only started about a year ago, so am still a "rookie" investor myself. But to give a little bit of advice, for your first deal I would say just go for it without any mentors or partners (yet!)

In my experience, purchasing a simple Single-Family Investment Home will give you so much unfound confidence and knowledge that it will help in so many different ways. It will also help with finding the "right" mentors and/or partners to help you on your future deals, as you can focus on the parts of the process you didn't like that someone can help teach you more about or do it entirely. Also, as a lot of these "mentors" will feast on newer investors and ask for a lot of up front money to help get you started but not really provide you with any help in purchasing your first investment property. Plus, it's better to looking online, it's better to look for an investment property rather than a partner/mentor.

Ultimately, listening to REI podcasts and YouTube videos and just getting started is the best way to go, even if you don't know everything. Experience is so much better than sitting behind a screen and overanalyzing. Then once you finish one, you can find mentors and/or partners to help you on your next deal!

If you have any further questions, feel free to DM and I can try to help out.

Thanks!

0 Reply

Connor Wills

Member since 2022 · 1 post · 0 votes

4y

Quote from @Joe Villeneuve:

Since you love to learn (me too), I can suggest a series of topics you need to learn before your start REI:

1 - Market Analysis
2 - How Money Works
3 - How to develop, and stick to, a financial plan specific to you and REI
4 - Geometry
5 - Algebra

This is incredible advice, do you have any books that you’d recommend to people that want to learn about these topics?

0 Reply

Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

Moderator

Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

4y

Quote from @John Costanza:

Hey Everyone ! My name is John, and I am new to Bigger Pockets as well as Real Estate investing. I turn 30 years old this year, and spent the last 10 years earning my Bachelors Degree in Business Management from East Carolina University, then continuing on to earn (4) I.T Certifications and I am currently working as a Systems Engineer. My recent promotion had me thinking for the first time in my life I might be able to get ahead, but like most of you I found I was sadly mistaken. Feeling the middle class struggle, I took to the books. "Subtle Art of Not giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson taught me to embrace the fear of failing and use it as a learning tool. I read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Rich Kiyosaki next which got me thinking outside the box and thinking about Real Estate. That is when I read "Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Turner which brought me here. As you can tell I am dedicated to learning and I have been bitten by the Real Estate bug. I honestly cannot wait to get started. I ordered more books and I am analyzing how I should make my first move.

Living in Jersey City, paying cheap rent in a bad part of town... my initial thoughts were to buy myself and wife a Single Family home to live and begin our life together. Hopefully have some children..... but these books got me thinking maybe I should instead use my First Time Home buyer advantage to purchase an investment property that could boost my cashflow. I have family roots in Jersey City but the taxes are too high so I was thinking maybe in the surrounding suburbs. Maybe I should "House Hack" first so my wife can continue to be close to her office in Jersey City so the commute isn't bad. Our ultimate goal is to make enough money to replace her income so she can quit, as I work from home and that would free us from being stuck in North Jersey for good ! These are the "Why" I am interested in investing.

I could also pursue a place in Toms River New Jersey, by Seaside Heights which is a popular summer location by the beach where I was born and raised and also have roots.

Finally, I could think about pursuing Greenville, North Carolina where my Wife has roots, or Naples Florida where my parents currently live and are developing incredible friendships I could use to my advantage.

Does anyone have knowledge about investing in any of these locations, would anyone be interested in getting to know and working with me to purchase my first property in one of these locations, which could be mutually beneficial. I think I am currently overanalyzing, I want to pursue an investment close to me for learning purposes and so I can be my own landlord, but the taxes are soooo high it just doesn't make sense. My Uncle owns Calico Construction in Jersey City and told me to get the hell out.

Thanks for reading and any comments are greatly appreciated.

There are a hundred ways to skin a cat, but I suggest you consider house hacking to start. You need a place to live and you want to start investing, so that would achieve both goals at once. If it works out, you can build a nice portfolio rather quickly. Or you can house hack for your first couple of investments and then make enough cash flow to pay for a single-family for you to live in.

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4 Reply

Joe VilleneuvePro Member

Plymouth, MI · Member since 2013 · 13k+ posts · 19k+ votes

4y

Quote from @Connor Wills:

Quote from @Joe Villeneuve:

Since you love to learn (me too), I can suggest a series of topics you need to learn before your start REI:

1 - Market Analysis
2 - How Money Works
3 - How to develop, and stick to, a financial plan specific to you and REI
4 - Geometry
5 - Algebra

This is incredible advice, do you have any books that you’d recommend to people that want to learn about these topics?

Algebra and geometry books from school. I've put my knowledge together based on many different resources.
The rest are a culmination of many sources.

1 Reply

Rebekah Hitt

Rental Property Investor · Member since 2021 · 48 posts · 17 votes

4y

@John Costanza

Welcome to BP community! I am a new(er) real estate investor with one property I purchased in 2021 that I am house hacking and working on plans for an attached ADU. Minus utilities and cap ex money set aside, I live for about $200 a month and I make over 6 figures as a nurse director. I am committed to do WHATEVER it takes to become FIRE (financially independent through real estate!!)

My second property I have currently under contract is a small cabin on Table Rock Lake just outside of Branson; I plan to enter the STR market with that property and the goal there is to pay it off in 3 years.

I would recommend connecting to any local REIA meet up groups in your area: I have learned about housing and zoning, future projections of growth, tax lien homes, and many other topics as well as grew my group of mentors, collaborators, and a curated list of contractors for my projects. I love to talk "shop" with those further down the journey than myself....every once in a while, I even have a bit of info I can share which feels good after starting this journey about 2 years ago.

Your network is your net worth......I would say, go find your Facebook group, your local REIA meet up and find your tribe!

#secondactplaybook #bebebuys #nurseinvestor

2 Reply

Ruth Blue

Realtor · Pigeon Forge, TN · Member since 2018 · 230 posts · 111 votes

4y

@John Costanza

Welcome John

Everyone here is here because they had that light bulb moment when the regular Rat Race just doesn't work. There are tons of different parts to investing in RE and I always recommend invest Where you know. Your looking at Greenville, NC where your wife has roots, Smart. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge is where we found ourselves settling in with investments. Have you ever played the cash flow game by Robert Kiyosaki. It is fun and eye opening.

1 Reply

John Costanza

OP

Member since 2022 · 13 posts · 13 votes

4y

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @John Costanza:

Hey Everyone ! My name is John, and I am new to Bigger Pockets as well as Real Estate investing. I turn 30 years old this year, and spent the last 10 years earning my Bachelors Degree in Business Management from East Carolina University, then continuing on to earn (4) I.T Certifications and I am currently working as a Systems Engineer. My recent promotion had me thinking for the first time in my life I might be able to get ahead, but like most of you I found I was sadly mistaken. Feeling the middle class struggle, I took to the books. "Subtle Art of Not giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson taught me to embrace the fear of failing and use it as a learning tool. I read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Rich Kiyosaki next which got me thinking outside the box and thinking about Real Estate. That is when I read "Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Turner which brought me here. As you can tell I am dedicated to learning and I have been bitten by the Real Estate bug. I honestly cannot wait to get started. I ordered more books and I am analyzing how I should make my first move.

Living in Jersey City, paying cheap rent in a bad part of town... my initial thoughts were to buy myself and wife a Single Family home to live and begin our life together. Hopefully have some children..... but these books got me thinking maybe I should instead use my First Time Home buyer advantage to purchase an investment property that could boost my cashflow. I have family roots in Jersey City but the taxes are too high so I was thinking maybe in the surrounding suburbs. Maybe I should "House Hack" first so my wife can continue to be close to her office in Jersey City so the commute isn't bad. Our ultimate goal is to make enough money to replace her income so she can quit, as I work from home and that would free us from being stuck in North Jersey for good ! These are the "Why" I am interested in investing.

I could also pursue a place in Toms River New Jersey, by Seaside Heights which is a popular summer location by the beach where I was born and raised and also have roots.

Finally, I could think about pursuing Greenville, North Carolina where my Wife has roots, or Naples Florida where my parents currently live and are developing incredible friendships I could use to my advantage.

Does anyone have knowledge about investing in any of these locations, would anyone be interested in getting to know and working with me to purchase my first property in one of these locations, which could be mutually beneficial. I think I am currently overanalyzing, I want to pursue an investment close to me for learning purposes and so I can be my own landlord, but the taxes are soooo high it just doesn't make sense. My Uncle owns Calico Construction in Jersey City and told me to get the hell out.

Thanks for reading and any comments are greatly appreciated.

There are a hundred ways to skin a cat, but I suggest you consider house hacking to start. You need a place to live and you want to start investing, so that would achieve both goals at once. If it works out, you can build a nice portfolio rather quickly. Or you can house hack for your first couple of investments and then make enough cash flow to pay for a single-family for you to live in.

Great Advice Nathan ! That is my plan for now, start looking at 2 Families in our area to "Hack". The Multi-Family properties in Jersey City right now seem too expensive to be a wise investment but I think the right 2- Family could do.

1 Reply

John Costanza

OP

Member since 2022 · 13 posts · 13 votes

4y

Quote from @Ruth Blue:

@John Costanza

Welcome John

Everyone here is here because they had that light bulb moment when the regular Rat Race just doesn't work. There are tons of different parts to investing in RE and I always recommend invest Where you know. Your looking at Greenville, NC where your wife has roots, Smart. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge is where we found ourselves settling in with investments. Have you ever played the cash flow game by Robert Kiyosaki. It is fun and eye opening.

Thanks Ruth ! The houses are so cheap down there compared to where I live now. I think I am going to plan for that to be my second or third investment once I can find the right first move to take full advantage of my First Time homebuyers rate.

0 Reply

John Costanza

OP

Member since 2022 · 13 posts · 13 votes

4y

Quote from @Rebekah Hitt:

@John Costanza

Welcome to BP community! I am a new(er) real estate investor with one property I purchased in 2021 that I am house hacking and working on plans for an attached ADU. Minus utilities and cap ex money set aside, I live for about $200 a month and I make over 6 figures as a nurse director. I am committed to do WHATEVER it takes to become FIRE (financially independent through real estate!!)

My second property I have currently under contract is a small cabin on Table Rock Lake just outside of Branson; I plan to enter the STR market with that property and the goal there is to pay it off in 3 years.

I would recommend connecting to any local REIA meet up groups in your area: I have learned about housing and zoning, future projections of growth, tax lien homes, and many other topics as well as grew my group of mentors, collaborators, and a curated list of contractors for my projects. I love to talk "shop" with those further down the journey than myself....every once in a while, I even have a bit of info I can share which feels good after starting this journey about 2 years ago.

Your network is your net worth......I would say, go find your Facebook group, your local REIA meet up and find your tribe!

#secondactplaybook #bebebuys #nurseinvestor

Thanks Rebekah ! That's good advice I definitely will look to join my local REIA Meetings.

0 Reply

New Investor looking for Mentors, Partners or Friendly Advice !

New Investor looking for Mentors, Partners or Friendly Advice !

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