Soon to inherit some money. Want to invest in real estate. Looking for some help in forming a plan!

[Niles Treber]

Hi, BP community! I'm a recently married 33 year old living near Orlando, Florida. I'm going to be inheriting some money soon and want to use it wisely. Real estate investing is appealing to me. I'm trying to formulate my goals and get some advice on getting my plan started. I've been reading like crazy trying to get a grasp on the world of real estate investing. But I think its time I try and look to others for some advice and to improve my knowledge. I'm very cautious by nature and am scared to death of losing this money through poor investment decisions. At the same time I know some risk is inevitable. In short, I wanna be smart!

Currently, my plan is to try and retire in 10-12 years and hopefully be able to make 8-10K a month in cash flow to live off of. In the meantime, having a little extra cashflow a month through rentals would be great. Rental properties appeal to me more than fixing and flipping at this point. But that could change as I learn more.

Anyway I have too many questions I don't even know where to start. Any guidance and direction on taking my first steps is much appreciated!

[Wendell De Guzman]

Niles,

Agree with @Hattie Dizmond . Here are some more ideas:

1. Do not invest in a war zone. It's too much trouble even with the return you get. The way I classify areas are:

- A - you get more Appreciation but no or negative cashflow
- B - you get Both appreciation and cashflow
- C - you get Cashflow but no appreciation
- D - you get a lot of cashflow but with a lot of tenant Drama and property Depreciation
- F - Forget it (war zone)

As a beginner, only invest in A, B and C areas. Stay out of D and F.

2. Always consider the numbers when you invest. I would aim to make at least a 12% cash-on-cash return or better. That means per every $100 I invest, I get back $1 a month or $12/year. You can utilize a spreadsheet like below:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/Mister4clo...

Here's a screenshot:

3. Listen to my podcast. It will show you how I made a BIG mistake in investing in an apartment building and what I've learned. Learn from my mistakes. Life's too short and money is not infinite for you to make BIG mistakes. Here's the podcast link: http://Biggerpockets.com/show65