Beginning my RE investing journey

[Nathan Aviles]

Hello BP community! My name is Nathan and after thinking about real estate investing off and on for a couple of years, I've decided 2023 will be the year I buckle down and do my first fix and flip. I plan to spend about 6 months learning the industry and networking before making my first deal. I am a first time homeowner in the Cleveland area who has made a career change from the nonprofit industry to financial services within the last two years and am working on getting my Series 7. Ultimately, I would like to flip one or two homes before incorporating the BRRRR method. If any experienced investors have words of encouragement, or would like to share their favorite resources, feel free to do so! Happy investing!

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Nathan Aviles:

Hello BP community! My name is Nathan and after thinking about real estate investing off and on for a couple of years, I've decided 2023 will be the year I buckle down and do my first fix and flip. I plan to spend about 6 months learning the industry and networking before making my first deal. I am a first time homeowner in the Cleveland area who has made a career change from the nonprofit industry to financial services within the last two years and am working on getting my Series 7. Ultimately, I would like to flip one or two homes before incorporating the BRRRR method. If any experienced investors have words of encouragement, or would like to share their favorite resources, feel free to do so! Happy investing!

Cut your timeline in half and aim for three months. First investment under contract by April 1, 2023. You can do it.

It doesn't take long to educate yourself on how to evaluate properties. You can start evaluating this week as practice. If you evaluate one property a day for one month, you'll be a pro by the end of January. Start looking for deals, figuring out the financing, find a REALTOR, etc.

At the same time, you need to learn how to manage what you purchase. Far too many investors wait until they have a problem before learning how to deal with the problem. I recommend you read books on how to manage, make a list of the most common problems, and develop a plan of how you will deal with them. Examples include: marketing, application screening, collecting the deposit, signing a strong lease, late rent, unpaid rent, unauthorized pets or animals, etc.

Here's my basic 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.