Newbie: Top 3 Actionable Items to Get Started?

Question

First official post to the forum; my name is Brendan and I live in Southern Ohio! My ultimate goal is to wholesale/flip and maybe even own a few rentals. We all know we can keep thinking about what we want to do but putting it into action is an entire other ball game.
What are your top 3 actionable items for a complete beginner who feels lost in the sense of being in a small town and no really local groups where one can shadow or work with? (Hour and half from Cbus/Cincy). These gurus make it seem you can jump right into it and as I know that is far from true, what’s the real way? Do I need to go be apart of a real estate firm as a part time job for a year or so and get knowledge of all the paperwork and fundamentals involved? So many questions it’s haunting me!

Nicholas L. · Answer

@Brendan Davis

1. are you already house hacking?  If you're not, make a plan to house hack, and then house hack.

2. are you already in touch with lenders?  if not, get in touch with lenders.

3. are you already in touch with real estate agents?  if not, get in touch with real estate agents.

4. go to the meetings / groups in the big cities.  worth the time.

good luck.

Steven Catudal · Answer

1 . This is all about the compromise you are willing to make. You can look into finding a duplex and renting out half or finding a property with a small guest house that you could rent out. It seems like you may live in a rural area so if you have land, you could look at finding ways to buy a place that has land that you could utilize (storage, guest-house, sports area).

2. Start talking with lenders now because they can give you an idea of what you can afford. They will also be able to work with you to help you get better credit or optimize finance to afford more. I would recommend starting with a local / smaller lender as they can give you more attention vs a rocket mortgage.

3. Tell him your situation and what you want to do (i.e., investment) and they have some criteria ready such as you want a private living area for your family, backyard, # of bathrooms, etc.

4. If you cannot find meetups, spend that time in these forums reading and chatting with others

Bonus:

-Pick one book on flipping / house-hacking and read it. BP has some good ones but there are TONS!

-Listen to BiggerPockets podcast every day. Some might not be relevant but you will pick stuff up over time

-Do you now any friends/family that have a rental or bought a house? If so, reach out to them and ask about the experience

Nicholas L. · Answer

@Brendan Davis

got it - not everyone can house hack and if it doesn't fit your lifestyle, that is fine.

regarding lending - you can always call a lender and just have a conversation.  have your information handy - income, debts, etc. just tell them you're not ready to have your credit pulled but you'd like to know what you might qualify for.

Jonathan Greene · Answer

1. If you can't find a meetup, start one. You will be surprised how many people will be interested, but you have to commit to a monthly schedule for at least six months. You have to try to promote it in the events here and in local Facebook groups for investors which they will have.

2. Listen to podcasts for newer investors or for the area you might be interested in first. BiggerPockets Rookie is a great place to start because it won't be over your head.

3. Try to meet a local real estate agent, investor-friendly, who is close to your age. If you can become friends with someone with a license who looks at dumps, they would love company on some of those trips and a potential client as you learn.

Andrea R. · Answer

Hi Brendan, O-H!  :)  Wholesaling is definitely hard work, so if that is the route you want to go with your real estate goals know you will have to hustle to find the property, negotiate the contract for it, market the proprety for sale, find a buyer, and assign the contract.  Finding wholesale friendly Agents may help to stremline this process once you've found a property.  As you network with people interested in an off market deal, you can creat a FB private page or send a mass email to help find buyers, but again the front end of finding the properties can be challenging (but not impossible!).  As for buying rentals, make sure your real esate agent understands how to properly analyze properties to guide you on potential profitable rentals.  The last thing you want is to buy something and the Agent's estimate on rent and/or reassesed taxes was wrong and you end up with a non income producing property.  For what it's worth rentals are an amazing way to create long term passive income while someone else pays the bank back for your asset...wholesaling and flips are one time transactions.

Travis Timmons · Answer

Actionable items - get your finances in order, make sure that your wife is on the same page, and start having conversations with professionals (lenders, other investors, agents, etc.)

Be okay not knowing things...just ask dumb questions. We have all been there. I'd be happy to help if you think I can be a resource. Send me a DM if you want to talk in more detail.

Remington Lyman · Answer

I would recommend getting a house hack where you live. Small towns can be great for cash flow!

Brendan Davis · Answer

You have made a very interesting point on house hacking that I never thought about; have land with essentially another house on or beside it. It’s funny you mentioned this and I have not thought about it.. my wife and I was talking how we could buy land and put a cheap double wide on it (something cheap we can pay in full, $10,000ish) and in our back yard we could slowly start building the dream house we wanted. The goal was to have the trailer paid off and given your advice, we could add another double wide on the property or buy the property next to the one we would buy and not only are you living in your paid off trailer, you’re getting a check every month to go towards building the dream house in the back yard!

Newbie: Top 3 Actionable Items to Get Started?

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