How prepared did you feel going into your first deal?

[Blake Ramsey]

Hey everyone, my name is Blake and I’m an engineering student based in Springfield, Mo. I’m looking into investing into my first property this year (buy-and-hold sfr) and was wondering how you all felt before doing your first deal? I’ve been reading and listening a lot and absorbing everything I can, but obviously that’s not the same as actually doing it. Did you get to a point where you felt ready, or did you just have to go for it and trust you could make it work?

[Trevor Fleck]

@Blake Ramsey Think of it like being a student when you're researching for a paper. You look in the bibliography of an applicable book, and rent out all those books. After a while, you've found that the bibliographies you are referencing all reference books/articles that you've already examined. At that point you know you've pretty exhaustively covered the topic. 

In a market, I talk to as many vendors as I can - property managers, contractors, appraisers, realtors, etc. After a while you start hearing the same names and promising neighborhoods over and over again. Same with deal analysis. If you conduct enough of them, after a while you'll KNOW when you see a good deal and be ready to pounce. Trust your numbers, trust your team, and have fun! If you either don't have the bandwidth or still feel like you're just not sure, consider a turnkey company as a way to tap into an existing, proven network while also having a mentor to provide some guardrails for your first deal. That's what I did with Rent to Retirement. Either way, the biggest thing is to pull the trigger! You'll get a great education along the way and be even better with each deal.