Newbie in San Tan Valley, Arizona by way of Detroit!

[Ronnie Edge]

Good morning!

My name is Ronnie Edge. I am 36 years old, married and a father of 2 amazing little boys (5 & 3). I have some experience in various facets of real estate, from loan origination to working with investors. However, after marriage and children, I put my dreams on hold in search of what I thought was stability by way of a regular occupation.

I've had a passion for real estate since I was 19 years old, but I've either been afraid to start, affected by the slow process, or allowed adversity to derail my plans.

My goals are to get my Real Estate License, and work my way up to be successful on the retail side as well as the investor side. I'd love to find a mentor to work with in my area, and possibly find leads (bird dog) or negotiate solid deals (wholesale) for investors while I grow in knowledge and build my cash flow. Hoping to meet some cool people in person and on this website to network with soon!

[Marcus Maloney]

Ronnie,

Welcome to the comunity. The most important thing to do is stay engaged. The valley has tremendous resources and opportunities. I wish I would have clicked this post earlier there was a AZREI (AZ Real Estate Investors) meeting this past monday. That is a great place to meet many investors and learn valuable information about the PHX market.

http://www.azreia.org/

I was in a similar situation, I moved here from Chicago (Just over a year ago) not knowing anyone but knew I wanted to be envolved in REI outside of the few rentals that I had back home. I so happen to find BP podcast on the drive from Chi-Phx, I had no idea what yellow letters were, conversion rates were, driving for dollars, or hard money lenders. I begin to listen, learn, and WORK, and I met the right people and I began to bird dog and find deals. I wouldn't have met the investors that I know without putting FAITH into ACTION.

I recently wrote an article about starting out:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/04/18/path-to-success-starts-here/

This and other articles I wrote created a little controversy but it was just my view point on how I was able to navigate my way to finding a local mentor. To say I have master things no way, but I am getting a great education and makng money while doing it.

Paul gave you some awesome links as well just dig in and you will defininately make your way around the RE Circuit. I'm in your area in box me and we can discuss some things further.

"Enjoying the Journey"