Hi, we're Devin and Luca from Auburn Alabama!
Hi, we're Devin and Luca from Auburn Alabama. We are a husband and wife team working 2 full time jobs and trying to start a family, so this is the perfect time to start something new right? Real estate investing was recommended to Devin by a college and it looks very interesting to both of us. So now we're trying to learn as much as possible and are looking to find our niche. Currently we think land is pretty cool and we have also thought about flipping some trailers. There are plenty of both around here. We would like to move into buy and hold in the future but we are not ready yet. Devin does a ton of driving for work and would like to get her real estate license. We initially were thinking to do some investing close to home in Alabama or Georgia to get our confidence up and then branch out. Since we are both going to keep our full time jobs for now, what we learned on the podcasts about notes is also attractive as a hands-off option. We are super grateful for the BiggerPockets community and podcast for making it so easy to learn and grow!
Welcome to BP! I'm originally from Auburn, though I'm going to school in CA at the moment. You seem to have some good ideas. Though do look more into whether Devin should get her real estate license. Check out the forums here regarding that. If she's not looking to become an agent, while there are benefits, there are also drawbacks, as I understand it. I think the biggest is maybe that you have to disclose that she's an agent when buying and that may turn some people off. You can always buy directly from a seller using a lawyer if they don't already have an agent, so no agent is required. Since she won't be working in an agency (I assume), she won't be getting 1st knowledge of upcoming deals. She'll learn a lot of legal stuff, but as I understand, it's mostly about contracts and stuff, not so much about how to choose a good property. Anyway, be sure to research that before spending the money. Or maybe she can take the class and not take the license exam. That way she has the knowledge, for whatever it's worth, but doesn't have to disclose that she's an agent since she's not...just a thought.
Anyway, whatever you all decide to do, good luck and welcome to BP!
Hi Jody,
Thank you so much for greeting us! We hope you are enjoying CA and that school is going well. Are you thinking of coming back to Alabama after school?
Devin definitely needs to look further into her license. One big worry is having to work under a broker for 2 years. Since she is not looking for a second job we would really have to understand what that relationship would be and if the expense justifies access to the MLS. The idea of taking the class but not the test is great, I think we will do that regardless of what she decides.
Thank you again for the welcome. Best of luck in school and see you in the blogs!
Devin & Luca
It’s nice to have you here!
This is a great forum with very knowledgeable members that will help to guide you in the right direction.
I really like the alerts feature that can quickly guide you to current topics that may be of interest: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts
There are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides
California has great weather and there's tons to do in the Los Aneles area, but I don't really dig some of the people I meet here. I'll definitely be leaving when I graduate, but am not sure I'll be coming back to AL immediately. I've got family in Indiana who have really been trying to woo me in that direction, so since I've never lived there, that's probably going to be my next move. I like to check out new places. :-)
Good luck with all your decisions and with your new real estate adventure!