Investor · Marina Del Rey, CA · Member since 2018 · 119 posts · 63 votes
Any other firefighters and first responders out there in real estate investment? I work for Los Angeles County Fire Department as a firefighter/paramedic in the West Hollywood area. Currently invested in over 700 units of multifamily and always looking to connect with fellow first responders.
I’m a former first responder, 14 years in various roles. Some as a police officer, some as a 911 dispatcher, some as a firefighter/EMT (FF-I, FF-II, then driver-operator on engine company and truck). Even did a part-time stint with AMR on a BLS ambulance (I guess I get bored easily, LOL). Fun times!
Then I decided to turn my side-gig of real estate investing into my full-time focus. That was almost 20 years ago and while I really loved my former vocation, I’ve never looked back. Since that time I’ve raised way over $100 million from investors and bought over a half a billion dollars of real estate. Man, it seems like two completely different lives.
The difference is I worked for a small city (less than 50K people) and you work for a REAL fire department—I grew up watching squad 51 and engine 51 on my tiny four-channel color TV, LOL. You see more trauma in a 24 hour shift than I saw in a year.
Detective from South Florida (Broward) new to REI. Been reading and listening to podcasts for over a year. Trying to find a deal but the market down here is very pricey. Might need to invest from afar. Been working copious amounts of OT to save up some $$ for DP and rehab. Ready to jump in!
Hi Christopher Deforest. Definitely important to know your market and I agree, being in public safety gives us a strong understanding of the communities where we work.
Hey Dimitri, welcome newbie medic! And welcome to RE. As you probably have seen, we have a number of people in the Ohio area on this thread that you can probably reach out to. Good to hear from you.
Hi Alfredo. I'll have to look more into Michael Snodgrass' RIT training. Always good to continue to train and gather training perspectives. Welcome to RE investing.
Hi Justin. Great minds think alike Justin. When it comes to pensions, we all need to have a deeper understanding behind them, and personally, prepare financially to not be entirely reliant upon them. Let's connect soon.
Hi Ryan Davidson. What great commitment to your communities as you moved around! We share the same goal of 3-4 years and retired! RE can be a great way to reach that goal.
Hello! I am a FF with City of Laguna Beach. Second career for me after 22 years in airline industry. Hired on at 46. Wife stated becoming a FF was my mid-life crisis.
Been on a few strike teams with LACO FD. Great guys and gals! Hard workers!
Wife and I are looking for our first multi purchase. 55 now and want to retire in 3-5 with some properties in hand.
Your thoughts on this: Been in our house 21 years. A lot of equity available. Use that equity for rental purchases? Caveats? Good? Bad? And ugly? How did you get started?
California is expensive. How did you find your properties in TX, KS and how do you buy, fix, rent out, and maintain them?
@Hud Floyd I have been a firefighter and EMT for 20 years on a small volunteer department. It is very satisfying. I enjoy helping others. As far as real estate goes I've been slowly building for multiple years. I have 28 units and have 2 flips in progress all self managed. Working towards quitting my day job. Great topic for discussion.
Hi Jeffrey. We have much in common! My wife and I actually sold our house last year for exactly the reasons you're stating. I'll reach out directly so we can connect. Great to have you here.
I am a current Officer for Clackamas Fire in Oregon. Have been in the business for going on 20 years as a medic and FF. I have 3 rentals in Indiana (hit me up if your interested in buying a turnkey rental from a former FF friend of mine-see podcast 241) and have flipped 13 houses here in the Portland area.
Hi all! It's been great getting to talk with a number of you over the past few days. I look forward to having the chance to speak with more of you. Always feel free to reach out.
I am a First Responder of 14+ years. Currently working in RE FT and investing on the side. I still dabble with EMS a little bit, and have also served in law enforcement and fire!
Hey again everybody. Just wanted to say thank you to all for being a part of this thread. Again, was great to speak with a number of you and look forward to connecting with more. Best of success to everyone on their RE journey.
Hey all! I work in the law enforcement realm. Currently in NJ, but formerly in good ole CA.!
I struggle every day with debating to keep real estate as a side hobby, or quit my job and go at RE full time. I just got accepted into NYU's Master's of Real Estate Development Program and start there in May. I figure, can't beat NY as a place to learn more about the business. Plus, because I'm a Veteran, my GI Bill pays for my studies.
Anyway, love seeing so many others in this community, just like me on here. It is truly humbling to have such talented folks to be able to seek advice from and ask questions to. I am still new to this game, so I rely on my hustle to make my way around.
A little late to this thread it looks like, but here it goes. I've been a firefighter for about 10 years in a suburb of Austin, Tx. We currently rent out one single-family home and are living in what will be our second. Looking to get into duplexes, fourplexes, and possibly bigger in the future. Hardest part so far has been finding deals. Offered on one about a month ago, but was a no go. Have the feeling I may need to begin going to meetups to increase my contacts within the community.
@Account Closed--You're kidding me!?! I worked for Round Rock Fire--left there about two years ago. I still am involved in teaching and consulting in the area of Traumatic Stress/Crisis Intervention. Do you work for LFD?