All Forum Posts by: Luke Icenhower

@Jake Alger - Thanks for the welcome. Meet-ups are definitely something I will be attending.

@Lane Kawaoka That was my assumption as well. One consideration I've had (but have not yet begun to explore the feasibility of) would be owning a duplex and renting out the other half to begin my investing journey and stop paying rent into zero equity; but much more information would be needed to understand if this is possible in my financial state. 

Thanks @Dmitriy Fomichenko! I appreciate the welcome. Beginner guide has been read, podcast subscribed to, so it looks like the keywords tracking and meetups are the next logical step.

Hello there, Bigger Pockets! My name is Luke, and I'm an early 30's guy living in Kirkland, WA with my wife and 2 cats. I am a pretty big video game geek that works remotely for an indie game publisher called Raw Fury that is based in Stockholm, doing global marketing and brand strategy. I supplement my possibly-too-frequent indoor habit with passions for travel, food, hiking, snowboarding, and live music.

I discovered BP through a friend who mentioned his desire to start investing in real estate away from the west coast. This struck a chord with me, as I've always had a keen interest in working to secure my retirement by finding ways to make my money go farther through investing. I've been debt free since my late 20's, have some money invested in IRAs, mutual funds, and stocks, but only passively considered real estate as something that would only come about after purchasing a house to live in. I also figured this would be a far-future scenario, because buying my own house in the rapidly-growing greater Seattle area has seemed like an expensive pipe dream. I'm now learning that, not only is it possible to start investing earlier than that in property out of state, but it's actually within reach!

As the subject states, I am a total newbie. My goal is to eventually supplement my income with additional cash flow, further diversifying my portfolio of investments, and building long-term wealth that can result in early retirement and only working out of desire vs. necessity. I am about 70% through David Greene's book on long-distance real estate investing, attended the last couple of webinars, and have been absorbing articles of interest as I come across them. Based on what I have learned so far, I would say I have a primary interest in learning more about BRRRR, rental, and flipping strategies, but will take every opportunity to learn as much as I can.

I hope that I can bring value to the community by not only absorbing knowledge, but by being useful and helpful to others who are also looking to build wealth and accomplish their dreams. One of my mantras is to make the world a better place by doing what you love, serving as an inspiration to others, and doing right by others whenever possible. While I know I have a long ways to go ahead of me, and will gladly take any of the guidance and assistance that I can find, I hope that this can be the first step to helping both myself and others reach success. :)

Thanks!