Hi, my name is Richard and I just joined BP after listening to alot of the podcasts. Have been reading the forums and there is a wealth of information here! I am in my mid-forties and employed here in the hudson valley. I am centrally located between the four major cities of the lower Hudson: Newburgh, Middletown, Poughkeepsie, and Kingston. I am looking to become a real estate investor in this area as well as in other states for buy and hold in the future when my financial situation is better. Due to divorce, medical and poor credit choices I am in some amount of debt and hoping that I will be able to rectify that in my first couple years of investing. I am imagining this will require me to do wholesale or lease option deals to start before I would be able to afford flips or buy and holds. I would like to continue to learn here through the forums as well as through continued listening to the podcasts, though I am interested in finding a local mentor who would be interested in helping me through the process in return for whatever I may have in value for their assistance. Five year plan is to pay off debt in first 2 years of investing and be a full time investor within 5 years so as to have reasonable amount of income coming in by retirement. Sorry this is so long winded. Hope to enjoy a long and profitable relationship here. Thank you.