Tips and Advice for Newbie Getting into real estate

[Giovanni Amaya]

Hi, first post here and excited to read everyone's thoughts. I am 18 years old fresh out of HS and I want to get into the real estate business. I have worked for over a year and even though my job is not hard I already hate minimum wage and living paycheck to paycheck. My goal of REI is to be financially free making enough money month to a month in the near future from real estate that I don't have to rely on a job. I want to learn how to flip houses, wholesale and rent out properties etc. I will start to read books, watch videos to get as much knowledge as possible and plan on getting my first property 2 years from now. Can I get any advice on how I should start learning? Tips or mistakes to avoid? I plan on going to college and getting an associate in either finance or some skill that will be useful for real estate. I also plan on getting my real estate license throughout my free time. Other than getting properties I plan to become work as a plumber to save money later when rehabbing houses and serving as the landlord. Any thoughts, ideas or comments would be highly appreciated! :)

[Nathan Gesner]

Maybe you can get something out of my generic beginner advice.

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. There is a handy search bar in the upper right that makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, it will be much easier to recognize a good deal when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

5. Study the market. You can learn to do this on your own or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR that works with investors and knows how to best help you.

6. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you just need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a pretty forgiving world and the average person can still make money even with some pretty big mistakes.