Hello BP, my name is Mike Guenther and I am taking the plunge into the complicated and exciting world of real estate investing! I am 24 years old and living in West Hartford, Connecticut. I work at Pratt & Whitney as an engineer where I get to help design and test next gen military engines. I did my undergrad in mechanical engineering at Penn State University and am currently attending online classes for my MBA from Indiana University.

I bought my first residential property in May, 2019. It is a single family home near Blueback Square in West Hartford that I am currently house hacking with two roommates who are friends of mine. I have been beginning to read books on real estate investing as well as listening to the BiggerPockets podcast. I have attended some local meet ups and find them to be very helpful at meeting experienced people and being able to learn about the business from people who have been doing it in the area.

My short term goal is to try out some renovations on my current house (kitchen, bathrooms, basement, etc.) and pull out some additional equity through a refinance or HELOC to use on future investments. In the near future I want to begin building a portfolio around the Hartford area with a focus on buy & hold of single family homes, duplexes, and triplexes.

In my free time I love to play sports like volleyball, basketball, and others to stay active. I am a very outdoorsy person and enjoy hiking, backpacking, and camping. I love to travel and try to go on one or two big trips each year to a new part of the world. I am also slowly working on getting my pilot’s license as time allows and hope to eventually build and fly my own plane.

I am looking forward to getting started and any advice people have for newcomers to the business or good local meet ups to attend would be greatly appreciated. I’ve only been a member of the BiggerPockets community for a short time but think it is an incredible resource and I hope to give back to the community as I learn and grow.