Hello Everyone!  My name is Tonia Myers. I reside in and want to invest in Birmingham, AL.  I have a job (Just Over Broke ...lol) and I am looking to build some real wealth and freedom for myself and my husband.  We started a ministry here in Birmingham and want to ensure that we have several streams of income that will sustain us as we move throughout life.  Just this past week my husband's grandfather was terminally ill and I was unable to completely devote my time to him and his family because I had to work.  Fortunately, my job is virtual but I was expected to really produce and could not afford to just take a couple weeks off to deal with my family issues.  I can't keep living like that.  

I have bought 3 personal homes in my life but never any investment properties. My main and initial goal is to create cash flow then I would like to move into self-directed IRA purchases for retirement.

I was introduced to Bigger Pockets through Clayton Morris.  I found him on youtube and he was talking about bigger pockets so I decided to click on over and check it out.   Let's just say at any given time you are around me you will either hear a podcast going or hear me talking about something I learned on this site.

I want to thank you all in advance fo all the insight and information that will be shared between us! 

Hello @Tonia Myers , glad to have you here! Let us know how we can help! And you should jump in, the community is pretty great here. You'll love it :)

Hey @Tonia Myers

I am so sorry to hear about your husbands grandfather. Glad to hear your excitement about Birmingham. My experience is in commercial real estate. Send me a pm if you are interested.

When I first started investing I was working a full time job in the logistics industry. A friend of mine told me about Land flipping. You can start with little money. I would suggest you check out @Seth Williams podcast and definitely his website REtipster.com. It will show you every step of the way. What I liked most about it was that you can automate the process to where it takes almost zero time out of your work day and you can eliminate time wasters.

Regardless, I wish you the best of luck!

@Shepard Ager Thanks for the information.  I will definitely look into that as a possible option.

@Tonia Myers Welcome to BP from another Birmingham local! Always good to see our awesome city represented! You're in a good position in that you live in a great cash flow market already, which means you don't have to go out of state like many people who live in pricier markets like CA and NY.

Since you're just starting out in your REI journey, just keep doing what you're doing: learning all you can. There are a million ways to do REI and it takes some time and legwork to determine which method is going to work best for you. For SFR rentals, the question usually comes down to 'DIY or turnkey'? - both of which are perfectly viable but have their pros and cons. My best advice for new investors is always to be brutally honest with yourself about where you are *right now*, not where you see yourself in a few years. You don't have to choose one type of REI and stick with it forever - you strategy can (and should) evolve as your situation and goals change - so be honest with yourself about your resources (financial, time, energy, interest) and don't jump into something just because that's what everyone else is doing, or because it fits your idea of what kind of REI you *should* get into. Have a serious heart-to-heart with yourself (and your spouse) about what your current capacities and needs are, and develop some short-term goals that are realistically achievable given your current situation. You'll be much more successful if you focus on the step immediately in front of you rather than where you hope you'll be in 15-20 years - do your homework, know your heart, and then establish a plan with achievable goals, you can reassess and revise as you progress.

Best of luck and happy holidays!

Clayton

Originally posted by @Tonia Myers :

Hello Everyone!  My name is Tonia Myers. I reside in and want to invest in Birmingham, AL.  I have a job (Just Over Broke ...lol) and I am looking to build some real wealth and freedom for myself and my husband.  We started a ministry here in Birmingham and want to ensure that we have several streams of income that will sustain us as we move throughout life.  Just this past week my husband's grandfather was terminally ill and I was unable to completely devote my time to him and his family because I had to work.  Fortunately, my job is virtual but I was expected to really produce and could not afford to just take a couple weeks off to deal with my family issues.  I can't keep living like that.  

I have bought 3 personal homes in my life but never any investment properties. My main and initial goal is to create cash flow then I would like to move into self-directed IRA purchases for retirement.

I was introduced to Bigger Pockets through Clayton Morris.  I found him on youtube and he was talking about bigger pockets so I decided to click on over and check it out.   Let's just say at any given time you are around me you will either hear a podcast going or hear me talking about something I learned on this site.

I want to thank you all in advance fo all the insight and information that will be shared between us! 

 Hello and welcome! Best of luck to you!

@Clayton Mobley Thanks for the warm welcome and all the words of wisdom.  I really appreciate it.  Clayton is there a meetup group here in birmingham?

@Tonia Myers you know, I'm not actually sure on that one. There isn't one that I attend, and I haven't heard any rumblings about a meetup lately..... I'd say do a quick search and see what comes up. If there's isn't one already, you could certainly start one!