20 year old looking for some advice for getting into the REI game

[Blake Ramsey]

Since I was introduced to REI about a year and a half ago I have been indecisive about whether it is something I actually wanted to do or not. I have read a lot of books, blogs, and listened to a lot of podcasts, but I haven't ever had the drive to dig deeper and actually get some industry experience. This year, I finally decided to commit myself to at the very least try my hand in real estate investing and get a taste of what it's like for myself rather than just reading about other people's experiences in books and blogs, even if I fail in the process.

So for context, here's the rundown on my current situation:  I am a 20 year old (almost 21 whoop whoop) who is going to school for engineering at a JuCo for free while working about 30 hours a week with $2k+ in the bank and another ~$2k in stocks and crypto. I still live at home and have no debts or liabilities at this moment. 

An hour ago I sat down and came up with some goals that I have for myself as I begin this (hopefully) long journey ahead of me:

1. GET FREAKIN STARTED ALREADY

2. Wholesale to get capital for a duplex + build connections with investors in the local market (by fall 2022)

3. Buy a duplex (by summer 2023)

4. Build a reliable team to obtain future deals

5. Create a corp and continue to get more rental properties: single family or duplexes (2023-2024)

6. Create a scalable system to find, close, any future deals

These are the goals that I have come up with at the moment and from my research seems like a pretty attainable timeline. Obviously, I have a few questions about... Everything. But I'd also like some feedback on your experiences and how the timeline/order of events compares to mine.

Questions:

1. I am not interested in building a long-term career in wholesaling, just using it as a means to an end to build capital. Is wholesaling worth a shot if I'm just doing it to build capital to invest in rental properties or would it be better to seek out private money? I put wholesaling because I feel like its a good way to get in the industry and create relationships with other investors, title companies, etc. If you have any experience with wholesaling give me a shout!

2. In your experience, when building a team of lenders, realtors, contractors, etc. does it just happen over time or do you actively seek out people in the community? At what point is having a core team vital to your success, I'm assuming you wouldn't really need them if you only had 2 or 3 properties right?

3. At what point do I create a holding company for my properties?

You can answer one of these or all of them, I would just really appreciate any feedback you all could give me! I'm new to this so obviously I don't know what I don't know, so hopefully some of you could let me know what I don't know so I can eventually know what I now do not know. It would also be great to hear a little bit about how some of you got started!

[Nicole Heasley Beitenman]

I'll take a stab at #2. I would get involved in your local meetups. You'll meet realtors and lenders who likely know each other and work together. Not to mention meeting other investors who can give you referrals.