Nice to meet you all! From Hartford, Connecticut.

Nice to meet you all! From Hartford, Connecticut.

Hartford, CT · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote
Good morning/afternoon depending where you are, my name is Steven Valencia and I'm happy to be here! I'm new to the goal of becoming a real estate investor and hope to learn a lot from this forum along with the veterans that have been in my shoes. I've been doing a lot of reading to get more familiar with terms such as wholesaling, hard money lenders and other concepts so any book recommendations that can supplement the the information I get from here would be appreciated! I'm aiming to buy my first property by the end of this year (not sure which type first) and hope to add at least one more each year following the hopeful success of my first. My financial aim is to hit $80,000 a year as a minimum and to build on that every year through reinvesting in real estate. My long term goal is to hit $1,000,000 minimum sitting in my savings account. Of course if I could make $1,000,000 a year I'd love to but trying to be realistic in starting thoughts haha. I came to join BiggerPockets when I tried to find ways to learn more about real estate. I saw this pop up in an online search and saw all the motivating and helpful people and fell in love with the community from the outside, and now I want to be a part of it all. Thank you for having me here, I hope we can all work well together and that I can learn a lot from you all. 


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William BrownPro Member
Wholesaler · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 276 posts · 181 votes
9y
Steven Valencia ahhh fresh meat ;-) But straight talk you have come to the right place to achieve your goals. The biggest wake up call to me when I came here was that it was free coaching and people would hold my hand. I couldn't be more wrong. However, this is a community that will show you the ugly in the real estate investing world. I love it. I'm always out here trying to shoot holes in people's plans and smiling when they shoot holes in mine. Biggest advice is, take it slow. At first. There is such a wealth of information on here, it can be like looking up at Mt Everest after never seeing a mountain before. It is overwhelming, but don't get overwhelmed. If you haven't, find the BiggerPockets Podcast and download them all to your phone. Start at number one, and listen to them when at home, in the car, whenever you have a free moment--like I do. But most importantly, have fun with this! If you start to look like REI as another sh**ty job you have to do, you won't get anywhere. Also feel free to shoot me a colleague request and we can chat sometime! I'm also just educating myself right now and drawing my plans for the future! God bless!
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  • New to Real Estate · Nampa, ID · Member since 2015 · 66 posts · 49 votes
    9y
    Great goals! Welcome to BiggerPockets. Check out the podcast. Find your niche and locate someone to serve that is doing what you want to do.
  • Hartford, CT · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    9y
    Will do man, thank you for the welcome!
  • William BrownPro Member
    Wholesaler · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 276 posts · 181 votes
    9y
    Steven Valencia ahhh fresh meat ;-) But straight talk you have come to the right place to achieve your goals. The biggest wake up call to me when I came here was that it was free coaching and people would hold my hand. I couldn't be more wrong. However, this is a community that will show you the ugly in the real estate investing world. I love it. I'm always out here trying to shoot holes in people's plans and smiling when they shoot holes in mine. Biggest advice is, take it slow. At first. There is such a wealth of information on here, it can be like looking up at Mt Everest after never seeing a mountain before. It is overwhelming, but don't get overwhelmed. If you haven't, find the BiggerPockets Podcast and download them all to your phone. Start at number one, and listen to them when at home, in the car, whenever you have a free moment--like I do. But most importantly, have fun with this! If you start to look like REI as another sh**ty job you have to do, you won't get anywhere. Also feel free to shoot me a colleague request and we can chat sometime! I'm also just educating myself right now and drawing my plans for the future! God bless!
  • Investor · Albany, NY · Member since 2017 · 58 posts · 22 votes
    9y
    Steven Valencia welcome! As a fellow newbie, I found listening to BP podcasts that focus on your RE strategy. Mine is buy and hold so I started literally at episode 1 and scanned through podcasts subjects that relate to buy and hold. I skipped over podcasts that focused on wholesaling for the sake of time. I also listen on 1 and half speed which allows me to buzz through podcasts quicker. I'd also suggest joining your local REIA. I joined last month and the ability to network face to face with local investors is sort of priceless. Good luck!
  • Hartford, CT · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    9y

    @William Brown @Rich Becker Thank you both for the information! I'm almost done downloading all the podcasts, they're bound to keep me busy for a while! I see real estate investing as a lifestyle choice rather than a job and that's what's exciting me. Like I said, if I could become a millionaire doing this then that would be wonderful but that's not my main goal. As long as I can wake up doing something that I love, take care of my family and learn/grow more each day... then I believe that's a solid win in my book. It'll take me a while to find my niche but I'll do my best to absorb everything I can. 

    Also that Mt. Everest comparison was spot on haha. I'll also check out my local REIA once I find more information on it later today. I appreciate the advice!

  • Rick SantasierePro Member
    Real Estate Broker · Granby, CT · Member since 2015 · 695 posts · 317 votes
    9y

    @Steven Valencia, welcome. Great goals! What @William Brown said was great. There will not be hand holding here unless you are willing to put in the work too. There are so many great people in the area to network with, and there are local meet-ups monthly all over the state. I will not mention this one by name, but if they ask you for money, don't go. There are free ones where we meet just to bounce ideas off of each other, and hope to provide help to one another. No charge, no sales games. There is on in Manchester and Rocky Hill, as well as one down in Fairfield as well. Find a real estate broker you can click with for help. There will be several that will offer you help, and most of them are good. Just do your due diligence; get referrals, and look into their experience to determine if they have what it is you are looking for. As an investor (and broker), I am certainly aways willing to provide advice and my REI experience to people who are like minded and have a passion for this. Reach out to me any time Steven.

  • Hartford, CT · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    9y

    @Rick Santasiere I appreciate your words and opportunity to learn more from you. My short term goal is to get myself to the "financially strong" point in savings in the next few months to begin investing and then at that point, along with what I learned, I'll start reaching out to learn more and network. I'll definitely look into the meet ups to start attending and growing relationships over time. Thank you for your time and willingness to help, once I have a good grounding in what I can learn from here you'll be hearing from me!

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