Erich Martinez

I was part of the real estate bubble of 2008 and suffered great consequence by later losing my investment properties. Eventually, I was forced to file bankruptcy in 2010 which later led to divorce in 2011 and then a crushing blow in life was dealt. I'm a single father that was diagnosed with a Stage 4 SCC cancer in Sep 2012 and had life saving surgery on Oct 2012, one week after my birthday. It was an eye opening experience thinking life could end soon as I wrote a living will and felt helpless thinking about my children. My heart truly goes out to those suffering cancer with children, as it can be a terrifying experience, After getting divorced 1 year prior and being solely responsible for my two sons living with me who were 6 and 8 I had faith I could get through this difficult period. However it was a battle, I had a second diagnosis in 2014 of SCC in my lymph nodes (neck) and a third diagnosis in my right lung. With odds greatly against me, somehow I knew I wasn't going anywhere and I fought a battle to live and live strong for my children. As a result of positive thinking, my recent scan came clean. Each day I live blessed and thankful to be a father and with passion to be my best. With all that said, I realized to live passionately and with purpose. I stumbled across the BiggerPockets website, and I just can't stop learning; watching the videos are inspiring and I'm enjoying all the positive feedback. It has fueled my desire to continue working with real estate, and is brilliant as I wish I knew about the tools, forums and educational materials back in 2008. Buying, Fixing and Renting real estate have always been a passion for me. Hey I had a little setback, but I'm ready now and I'm excited about the opportunity to build a real estate network and meet fellow colleagues for guidance.