Newbie in Louisville, KY! Came from Chicago...

[Nicole Dlugosz]

Hello! My name is Nicole and I just moved to Louisville from Chicago. I have a passion for horses and equestrian properties!

I’m new to real estate and would like to start investing. I’m studying for my real estate license now but don’t really want to be an agent. My thought was that it would help teach me transaction basics and learn the area while I build up cash for investing. 

Any advice on the best way to learn a new market?

[Tyler Bodi]

@Nicole Dlugosz Welcome to Louisville! Studying for the real estate exam will teach you a lot. How are you preparing, taking a class or learning on your own? I think any level of education is great. I believe the best way to get to know a new city is on a bicycle or driving around in your car. If you have any questions about the exam feel free to reach out.

[Rob Bergeron]

Nicole, we have a major shortage for the equestrian community. Maybe you can help fulfill that niche! I'm always here to talk! Join KREIA and start going to all the awesome meetups! 

[Raphael Collazo]

Hey @Nicole Dlugosz,

Welcome to Louisville! It's a great town and I'm confident you'll enjoy living here. I believe the best way to prepare yourself to invest in real estate is to educate yourself on the subject. Real estate investing requires patience, diligence, and knowledge of how to identify a worthwhile investment. To start, I recommend checking out the following books:

1. "The Book On Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Turner
2. "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures" by Frank Gallinelli
3. "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
4. "Hold: How to Find, Buy and Rent Houses for Wealth" by Steve Chader and Jennice Doty
5. "Set for Life" by Scott Trench

These books will give you a solid foundation for you to begin building your real estate investment portfolio. As for networking with other investors, have you looked into attending a K.R.I.E.A event? It's biggest real estate investing organization in town. At their monthly meetings, they host excellent speakers who talk about various real estate investing topics. They also host events throughout the month and provide perks to members including discounts for purchases at local businesses, on-site learning experiences (L.O.T.S), happy hours, etc.

Also, @Luke Neubauer and I host a free monthly meetup at the Manhattan Project on Frankfort ave. As part of the meetup, we invite speakers to talk about topics related to real estate investment and network with other like-minded investors. We usually have a great mix of beginner and experienced investors who attend. It may be a great opportunity for you to make some connections with people in the area who are making moves. Hope this helps.

All the best,

[Mark Morris]

Nice suggestions. Thank you.

[Nicole Dlugosz]

Originally posted by @Tyler Bodi:

@Nicole Dlugosz Welcome to Louisville! Studying for the real estate exam will teach you a lot. How are you preparing, taking a class or learning on your own? I think any level of education is great. I believe the best way to get to know a new city is on a bicycle or driving around in your car. If you have any questions about the exam feel free to reach out.

Thank you, Tyler! I am taking an online class for the real estate exam. I have an inactive CPA license in Illinois so I’m going through a little bit of PTSD from that experience. But it must get done! 

[Nicole Dlugosz]

Originally posted by @Rob Bergeron:

Nicole, we have a major shortage for the equestrian community. Maybe you can help fulfill that niche! I'm always here to talk! Join KREIA and start going to all the awesome meetups! 

Thank you, Rob! I will look into KREIA and hope to make it to the next meetup. It seems the equestrian community is dominated by a few at the moment but a new generation needs to start taking over. Maybe I’m wrong but we’ll see! It feels like I’m starting from square zero, but we all start somewhere. 

[Nicole Dlugosz]

Originally posted by @Raphael Collazo:

Hey @Nicole Dlugosz,

Welcome to Louisville! It's a great town and I'm confident you'll enjoy living here. I believe the best way to prepare yourself to invest in real estate is to educate yourself on the subject. Real estate investing requires patience, diligence, and knowledge of how to identify a worthwhile investment. To start, I recommend checking out the following books:

1. "The Book On Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Turner
2. "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures" by Frank Gallinelli
3. "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
4. "Hold: How to Find, Buy and Rent Houses for Wealth" by Steve Chader and Jennice Doty
5. "Set for Life" by Scott Trench

These books will give you a solid foundation for you to begin building your real estate investment portfolio. As for networking with other investors, have you looked into attending a K.R.I.E.A event? It's biggest real estate investing organization in town. At their monthly meetings, they host excellent speakers who talk about various real estate investing topics. They also host events throughout the month and provide perks to members including discounts for purchases at local businesses, on-site learning experiences (L.O.T.S), happy hours, etc.

Also, @Luke Neubauer and I host a free monthly meetup at the Manhattan Project on Frankfort ave. As part of the meetup, we invite speakers to talk about topics related to real estate investment and network with other like-minded investors. We usually have a great mix of beginner and experienced investors who attend. It may be a great opportunity for you to make some connections with people in the area who are making moves. Hope this helps.

All the best,

 Great advice, Raphael! Thank you. I am looking into KRIEA meetups.  Where do you post your meetup dates?

[George Skidis]

In Louisville look for the "Kentukiana Real Estate Investors Association" or KREIA. Frank Miller is the contact. They are a Chapter of "National REIA" and meet at the Woodhaven Country Club on the 4th Thursday of the month.

[Raphael Collazo]

@Nicole Dlugosz we usually post information about our meetups on BiggerPockets and www.meetup.com. 

Here's the link to our BiggerPockets posting for our September meeting: 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/749478-september-meeting-how-to-become-a-successful-wholesaler?page=1#p4409378

We have a solid group of people who attend and we always have great speakers who share unique insights with the group. Looking forward to seeing you at the next one!

All the best,