Hi all,

Been lurking on the forums for a while, but taking the opportunity to post an intro since I'm enjoying some time off at the end of the year.  Anyway, about me/us:  My wife and I are currently living near Seattle, WA (actually in Issaquah), after moving up to this area in March 2016; prior to that, I spent nine years living and working in St Louis, MO.  The difference in cost of housing was hard to swallow, as you can imagine!  I grew up in southwest Michigan, went to college in Indiana, and spent a year living near Durham, NC.  I work in technology sales and my wife is a nurse practitioner; we're also expecting our first child in February 2018, so staying busy getting ready for that monumental change to our lives.  On the education front, I'm listening to about two of the BP podcasts per day and reading various books.  I've reconnected with the agent who helped us buy our home; he's a real estate investor who has done many flips and buy-and-holds himself.  He invited me to a local session held by Steve Chader (one of the authors of Hold), which was great because it helped my wife come to the realization that RE investing can be a great way to helping us reach our goals.

Our goals (subject to change, as always):  Identify and acquire profitable multifamily properties for cash flow initially.  My current targets are at least $100/door, but the more the better.  My target markets are being identified still; there are opportunities in the surrounding Seattle area, but they're still significantly more expensive than in places like the Midwest.  I'm currently partnered with two guys (one in Lexington, SC, the other in Harrisburg, PA), and their markets are more affordable and the numbers tend to come out better for cash flow.  In the long term, I'd like to establish a portfolio of both SFRs and multifamily properties to generate monthly income and build wealth.  I've been saving for retirement since I was 18 with a target of retiring before 50; I'm on-track for that with my regular job, but earlier is better and I think real estate investing is both interesting and the best way to help reach our financial goals.  Currently we have no properties beyond our primary residence, so just getting started!

Why I'm joining the BP community:  I love that the gurus are nowhere to be found, and we can have frank discussions about even the simplest of topics.  There are no dumb questions, right?  I'm also hoping to start meeting and networking with others to learn from their experience, identify potential markets and partnerships, and build a good team going forward.

Thanks.