Finding deals, Learning on the go, Finding mentors: Moving from South Korea to Austin, Texas for 3 weeks to get started investing
I'm a complete newbie to the US real estate investing scene, although I've been very interested in US REI since 2006 when I was in college (Texas A&M).
To give you a bit more background, I graduated from A&M with a business degree, then promptly headed off to South Korea to teach English for a few years before starting my own business here (unsuccessfully), then moved on to the import/export consumer goods industry heading up the Korean market for a major New Zealand honey company. I got married here in Korea a couple years ago, and had a baby last year, and now have a new one on the way already!
My wife and I decided to take the plunge and start investing here in Korea in some apartments on the coast in a town surrounded by beautiful rugged mountains on one side and open ocean on the other. RE here in Korea is a very different animal than the US, as your tenants essentially give you an interest-free deposit that is normally 50-60% of the market price, but can be up to 100%! We've bought 9 apartments here through this system, and am considering buying more, although I think it's time we refocus on the US.
I've decided that we should focus on Austin, TX as our main starting point as it is one of the top cities in the country for population growth, employment, and low unemployment numbers.
My wife and I have decided to take nearly a month off of work and fly our family (Me, my wife Victoria, 14mo old baby Jude, and mother-in-law) from Seoul to Austin so I can learn the market and try my best to find some deals within that short time period.
Obviously, I understand that that is extremely tough to do by myself in that time period, but I also know that I can't do it by myself. I need help from experienced investors to give me some counsel and guidance about how to get started.
We are flying into DFW on Sat July 6, but will be in Austin from Mon July 8 - Mon July 29. It would be great if any experienced might have time during that first week or two, since early guidance would probably have the greatest impact.
If I can make significant progress while I'm there (i.e. make a deal or close to it) our plan is to come back to Korea and make plans to leave very soon to invest full-time in Austin. Ambitious I know. We've got a very limited time frame with which to make progress, but I hope you see how serious we are by just investing the money/time to go over there.
Are there any experienced investors, particularly in wholesaling, that would be interested in chatting briefly over coffee or lunch and lining up another future investment partner?