Forrest Holden

I’m a Marine Corps veteran, real estate investor, entrepreneur, community builder, and technology/infrastructure leader based in northern Minnesota. I started investing in real estate in 2014 and have owned 10 properties across four different markets. My experience includes long-term rentals, owner-occupied investment properties, renovations, property management, and a flip. I also previously held a Minnesota General Contractor license and have performed property field surveys for insurance underwriting. That’s given me the opportunity to see real estate from a lot of different angles—as an owner, investor, landlord, buyer and seller, renovator, contractor, and insurance field surveyor. I’ve also experienced plenty of the less glamorous side: difficult tenants, contractors, repairs, deferred maintenance, insurance, financing, unexpected capital expenses, and properties that don't behave the way the spreadsheet said they would. One of the parts of real estate I’ve enjoyed most is building community. In one of the smaller markets where I invested, I built a local real estate investing group from the ground up that grew to roughly 300 members, with weekly meetups that brought together investors and other people interested in real estate. I enjoy connecting people, sharing knowledge, and creating communities where relationships and opportunities can develop organically. Professionally, I spent 14 years in the Marine Corps working in IT infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, technical operations, leadership, and training. My background ranges from hands-on engineering to leading technical teams, developing training programs, and solving complex operational problems. Today, I’m building businesses while pursuing opportunities as a fractional IT Director, technology executive, and consultant. I’m particularly interested in helping small and midsize organizations that need more strategic oversight of their technology, vendors, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and operations but may not need a traditional full-time technology executive. The common thread across real estate, technology, business, and community building for me is creating and improving systems. I like finding where money is being wasted, where risk is hiding, what can be simplified or automated, what should be handled internally versus outsourced, and where better systems and stronger relationships can create long-term value. Going forward, I’m interested in acquiring and building businesses, expanding my real estate portfolio, small multifamily and value-add opportunities, partnerships and syndications, creative deal structures, and opportunities where operating businesses and real estate intersect. I’m on BiggerPockets to learn, share what I’ve learned, build relationships, and contribute to the investing community. I’m always interested in meeting investors, business owners, operators, lenders, contractors, and entrepreneurs. If you’re working on something interesting—or think my background could add value to something you’re building—I’m always open to a conversation.