New and Painfully Hungry.

[Austin Laubacher]

Hello BP community, my name is Austin. I’m excited to dive into the mix and learn from the many intelligent and experienced users of the BP forums.

I’m completely new to real estate investing. I’ve done some learning over the past few weeks. I’ve accumulated a little bit of knowledge about the industry. I’m posting this to introduce myself and hopefully get some beginner advice. I’ve been listening to the Bigger Pockets podcast. There’s been lots of good info there, but there’s so much of it and it’s not all lined up for a beginner (not saying it should be). But there’s been a lot of sorting and sifting I’ve had to do thus far.

I'm 27 years old. I don’t have large sums of capital for investing. I don’t have any connections in the RE world (yet). I do have time, intelligence, focus, and hunger. I work as a freelance carpenter, mainly for events and some TV shows, so I can control my availability more than someone with a 9 to 5.

I've been looking into wholesaling as a means to generate quick(ish) capital in order to fix/flip or BRRRR or whatever else I find appealing. But I don't know how to go about learning my market (LA County), finding sellers (should I look for on or off-market properties? How would I find them?), or estimating repair costs.

I suppose I need a mentor. Perhaps I could offer my carpentry experience and labor to an experienced fix/flipper in exchange for guidance. The BP podcast talks a lot about adding value to a mentor.

Anyways, thanks for reading this and offering me any friendly greetings and/or advice!

[Austin Laubacher]

Sorry for the late replies everyone. I became a little discouraged after receiving advice to move out of LA.

Thanks @Anthony Dooley and @Brandon Vanderford for the input. Unfortunately, finding a new home isn't a reasonable option for me right now, so I'll have to stick to where my roots are here in Los Angeles. But I'm aware that the odds may be in favor of those with more money and connections.

And thank you, too, @Juan V Lopez for the step-by-step recommendations. I'll do more research as to what "househacking" is. Although a paid course may be the way to go, there are just so many of them and most seem to overpromise. I definitely aim to slash my living expenses! I cook most my meals and don't buy unecessary items....usually.
@Doug Spence: I think your response is the best immediate action I can take. I took a little heartbroken breath from studying real estate investing after I was advised to move out of LA. It just isn't an option for me right now. And, I'd rather not. Now that I'm regaining my courage, I think the next logical step is to dip toes into some meetups. 

Thanks, everyone!