Introduction to the real estate world

[Megan Blasena]

Hi everyone I’m new to the investment world and it’s hard to know where to start. I want to purchase my first rental property but am very anxious. My husband bought our house just over a year ago and I don’t know the best way to go about getting another mortgage. Currently we both are working and able to save about $1000 a month not counting our retirement contributions. It feels like it’ll be forever before we are able to purchase another property as well as have enough saved for renovations and emergencies. I am looking for guidance and advice and am excited to become part of this community.

[Scott E.]

Welcome to BP Megan. You are going to learn a lot here by just poking around the forums, reading some blogs, and listening to podcasts.

You and your husband already have 1 property which is a great start. Some ideas of where to go from here are:

-Rent out the home you are living in, and buy a new primary residence for yourselves. Repeat this process every couple of years. This will allow you to buy another home with little money down

-Continue to save $1000 a month and buy a rental property in a market where SFH's are still selling around $100k (believe it or not, those markets are still out there)

-Get a HELOC on your home that you live in. This might free up enough capital to buy a rental property.

No matter what path you end up taking, just focus on getting educated over the next 3-6 months. The market is weird right now, and there are no immediate signs that it will improve any time soon. This means you have time to set a strong foundation and prepare yourself for an opportunity 6-12 months down the road.