Matt D.

I'm a systems thinker, who's always been interested in real estate. It's a side hobby that's grown into a lot more. I love everything about real estate. Discovering that I could make a career out of it was the best thing ever. I'm still a full-time teacher. I love analyzing numbers and patterns, so real estate has been a natural fit. There's a science to it that I am drawn to. I even enjoy analyzing deals that I have no intention of pursuing for the art of it. My ultimate goal is to build a retirement portfolio in real estate for myself and to use my teaching background to educate non-investors on the different passive investing opportunities out there to pull in more private money for even more deals where others can benefit as well. What am I looking for on BiggerPockets? For the seasoned investors out there, I wouldn't say I'm looking for a mentor, but I am looking for a mutualistic mentor-like connection in the New Orleans or Houma market with someone with a business structure in place and a few properties up and running. Your time is valuable. I know where to go to learn the nuts and bolts of the industry. Instead, what can I offer to you to help your day to day processes? I'd like to learn the business and gain some experience from simplifying someone else's life, not cluttering it. In a recent podcast, it was suggested that newbies seek out the veterans and offer up our talents rather than just asking the veterans to give up theres. I have experience in property management, construction, record keeping, finding leads, etc. An ideal scenario would be to connect with someone and then bring in my own deal and funding, but execute the deal under the guidance of the 'mentor'. Even having someone just to talk a deal through would be awesome since most of my friends roll their eyes when I show them deals. I need validation from someone who's been through it before I'll ever take the leap. I'm wanting to invest my time gaining some real life experiences while I'm still teaching so that when I ultimately start doing projects on my own, I can have the connections and experience that investors and joint venture partners will appreciate. For the other newbies out there, I'm always interested in getting to chat with others navigating the same pathway as me. Anyone looking to raise some capital to get started? I have some ideas for 1099/contract type work, but again, just haven't wanted to do it on my own. Ambition and hustle go a long way when you surround yourself with like-minded people. Even collaborating with fellow newbies to learn how to set up the business side of it would be awesome. No need to both invent the wheel. I already have a few deals/projects under my belt (a flip, a buy/hold, and a rehab). I also have other experience in general maintenance/construction, online marketing, property searches, real estate accounting, staging, graphic design, property preservation, etc. Slowly putting it all together. If you're in the south Louisiana area, drop me a message sometime.