Newbie from St. Joseph, MI (SW Michigan)
Hello Bigger Pockets!
As the subject line states, I'm a newbie to real estate alongside my wonderful fiance, Rachael . We tie the knot at the end of August but have been striving for FI since we were engaged in 2017. To date we have paid off all debt, nearly funded our emergency fund, and now are looking at investment opportunities/avenues (if you can't tell already, big fan of the Dave Ramsey philosophy).
Since we are new, our first step is looking at house hacking options in Southwest Michigan. We're mainly looking for 3-4 unit properties at the moment and currently own a single-family house in a great part of time, but the numbers don't make sense to rent at this point. We are putting it on the market to sell and use the profits as a down payment on a multi-family unit. Once we get comfortable with our first unit, our goals are to look for additional multi-family homes in West Michigan and Northern Indiana (ideally within 3 hours drive of our place of residence).
I'm a transplant from Oklahoma and work in the golf industry as a tournament director for a major championship. Rachael, a Michigander native, is actually transitioning into real estate and will receive her license in July. So to summarize, we're getting married, she's leaving her job for a passion, and we're trying to find out first investment property...scary and busy times! But we're excited and realize we have to start and the only thing guaranteed in life is the present. So here goes nothing!
We're always open to guidance as we start the journey and welcome questions, conversations, and advice. We're happy to do our best to provide value in return and look forward to enhancing how much value we can provide fellow members in the future.
Don't be a stranger and best of luck with your real estate goals!
Cheers!
Ryan