Where do I start? lol

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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. NETWORK!!! Get out of your comfort zone. Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies that spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away. Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area. You can also find real estate investing groups through meetup.com, facebook, or a Google search. Birds of a feather flock together! 5. 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.6. 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. 7. 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.

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Thank you so much, Nathan! I have read a few of those books and I do listen to the podcast, so I am on the right track. Woohoo! I am on the right track! I have been doing a lot of those things already, so it should be "easy" to take care of the rest. Yes, I use the term "easy" very loosely. I do know that nothing is ever easy. Thanks again for the help and I hope you have an awesome day!

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My biggest problem has been figuring out the market I want to start out in. My husbands job requires us to move around a lot, so I almost look at it as "the world is my oyster" and I don't know which city or even state to begin with. It has been driving me crazy!

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Thank you, Andres! That is the way I think. Everyone has a different perspective and we can all learn from each other. Networking is easy for me because I love getting to know people! At least, I start out with something that I feel confident with! haha. I am enjoying BiggerPockets and have started joining FB groups. The area I am in doesn't have any local meetups, so I haven't been able to do that. Thank you so much for replying to me! It is very helpful!

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@John Morgan Lol. That is too funny! It's amazing how everyone's story goes! I, probably, won't do what you did, but it is a great example on how just doing something is better than sitting on the sidelines. Thank you for sharing that!

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@Pamela J HarkabusDon’t over think. I started out making an offer to the listing agent after a couple beers. I had no idea what I was doing and did zero due diligence on the property. And somehow got the property. Lol. That was 8 years ago and that got me in the game. I bought on average 2 rentals a year. The learning curve is fast with RE. I’ve got 18 SFR now and so glad I jumped in and just made an offer. Otherwise, I’d probably still be on the sidelines.

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BiggerPockets, local meetups, and FB groups are great ways to start networking. I think the networking piece of being a real estate pro is the most important part. The more people you engage with the more perspectives you'll be introduced to. The learnings you take away from every person you interact with will help ensure success.

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Hey Pamela, you have come to the right place! What are some of your questions to start??