16 LOOKING TO SHADOW A REAL ESTATE AGENT

[Spirit Robinson]

Hello my name is Spirit Robinson, and I'm 16 looking for a real estate agents to shadow. When I'm out of high-school I plan on taking the real estate program to get my license. I have some idea of what it takes to be an agent for example commission and broker etc and what you expect for the license program. I am very passionate of becoming a successful agent because it's my dream to sell beautiful homes to families. (If you're interested of helping me out with my future career please feel free to reply and I will get with you)

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Spirit Robinson:

Welcome to the BiggerPockets forums!

I agree with Allan. You need to find investors and investor groups in your area. Network, build relationships, and maybe you can find someone to mentor you. Go to NETWORK at the top of your screen and you can search for other investors and investment groups in your area. You can also check meetup.com or search facebook for real estate investment groups, clubs, or meetings in your area.

I'll be honest: I wouldn't want someone tailing me unless I really knew them well and they somehow demonstrated it was worth the effort. Sales don't happen on a regular basis, so you may be shadowing them when absolutely nothing is happening. When they are working with buyers or sellers, they have a legal obligation to protect certain information and can't have a stranger with no fiduciary responsibility listening in on conversations or reading private contracts. It's just not a good idea and it's not practical.

Build relationships with a real estate investor. That's where you can learn what you need to learn.

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.