Hello Bigger Pockets Community,

I am Derrick Lumsden, and I am a new investor. I purchased my first single family in Northern Allegheny County (Tarentum, PA) in October and am running it as a buy and hold rental. I have a local mentor who is helping me along the way (at one point he owned 25 rental units), and I purchased the unit by financing through him. I am in real estate as an investment and side business as I have a full time job and a rather large family with 5 boys all under 10 years old.

My long term goal is financial independence by having a passive income that could replace my current income. I think I could achieve that with 12-18 units after I paid off their mortgages. I have no intention of quitting my day job, but I like the idea of being able to have the back stop and freedom. So I am here to play the long game.

I am looking to expand my rental business with more purchases in the new year. I am interested in small multifamily as my next purchase. I like the idea of the economies of scale and there seems to be a fair amount of that stock in the area.

I am looking to participate in the bigger pockets community for networking, advice, and mutual support.