Hello BP community. My name is Riley and I am a native to Abilene, TX. I am a physical therapist and work at a local hospital here in town. My best friend has been encouraging me to get into real estate for the last 8 years but I "never had enough money" to even know where to get started. Even though I make a good living and am able to provide for my family, we always seemed to be spending everything I made. Well this last October I put my wife and I on a budget and it has been the greatest experience of my life. I can now safely say that I am living this month on last months income. Now I am at a point in my life where I feel like I can tackle the real estate market that always seemed to be so out of reach. The crazy thing about all this is that a patient of mine told me about bigger pockets and that really got the wheels turning. Couple that with the fact that out of the blue my brother contacted me with a suggestion to partner up on doing rentals. I am somewhat handy doing my own renovations at my house including tile work, drywall, expanding door ways, and building a shower. I look forward to learning all that I can so that I can secure a better future for my family for years to come. 

PS: I tried adding a profile pic like 5 times but it won't save it at the moment. Will have to keep trying so you can appreciate my Abraham Lincoln beard!

@Riley Holt welcome to the BP community and the crazy world of real estate. I operate in Abilene and Wichita Falls. Feel free to let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.

Originally posted by @Riley Holt :

Hello BP community. My name is Riley and I am a native to Abilene, TX. I am a physical therapist and work at a local hospital here in town. My best friend has been encouraging me to get into real estate for the last 8 years but I "never had enough money" to even know where to get started. Even though I make a good living and am able to provide for my family, we always seemed to be spending everything I made. Well this last October I put my wife and I on a budget and it has been the greatest experience of my life. I can now safely say that I am living this month on last months income. Now I am at a point in my life where I feel like I can tackle the real estate market that always seemed to be so out of reach. The crazy thing about all this is that a patient of mine told me about bigger pockets and that really got the wheels turning. Couple that with the fact that out of the blue my brother contacted me with a suggestion to partner up on doing rentals. I am somewhat handy doing my own renovations at my house including tile work, drywall, expanding door ways, and building a shower. I look forward to learning all that I can so that I can secure a better future for my family for years to come. 

PS: I tried adding a profile pic like 5 times but it won't save it at the moment. Will have to keep trying so you can appreciate my Abraham Lincoln beard!

 Welcome to the site Riley. Get that new profile pic up dude. As a fellow beards-man I think everyone needs to see what you're working with.

Thanks for the welcome. I’m looking forward to figuring this whole thing out. The thing about bigger pockets is that for some reason I am instilled with confidence to take on this next venture. Meant to post earlier but I’m looking at rentals right now. Not sure if flipping is on my immediate list of things to do. 

@Riley Holt

Welcome to Bigger Pockets.

Welcome Riley! I'm a native here as well. Sounds like we have a lot in common as I'm an orthotic and prosthetic tech here and the investment/real estate thing is my side job currently until I get enough under my belt to do it full time! It can be overwhelming with all there is to learn here on BP but everyone is always willing to lend an ear and help you wade through any issues that may come up. I'm semi new to this as I only have one rental currently and am working on my first flip ATM but if I can be of any assistance....don't hesitate to reach out! Good luck

@Riley Holt - Have you thought about how you are going to find the properties to buy? Sending postcards or letters to potential sellers can be effective. It's always best if you find someone before they have done all the work to fix their house and put it on the market. 

You can get a list of people who share characteristics with motivated sellers. One of the most popular is a list of Non-owner Occupied. You can get a list with the owner's mailing address and the property address. I'm not sure how hot the market is in Abilene, but in some areas these guys are getting a ton of mail.

Since you are handy, you might consider sending to Seniors with Long-time Ownership or Owners with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS). Both these groups have a tendency to defer maintenance.

good luck 

Hello @Riley Holt . You just took one of the most difficult steps in real estate investment; the first step. Reaching out to seasoned investors in BiggerPockets. 

Wow. Thanks for all the support everyone. As it stands I have already spoken to my bank and am working on getting all the financing established so when I find the right property I will be ready to roll. @May Emery thanks for the tips. I will definitely be putting them to good use. @Brandon Pierce I would love to use real estate as a means to wean myself from the grind of Wound Care to hopefully be able to spend more time with my family. Baby steps though.