Getting started young and where do I start with real estate investing? How do I find my mentor?

[Account Closed]

Im 19 years old in San Antonio, Texas and I want to take on the heart of San Antonio with real estate investing. I have no previous knowledge of the subject but I am more than willing to get educated and put in the time and work to turn this into my living. 

I graduated with a 4.0 in high school but was not interested in pursuing college and finding a job in corporate America. While there is nothing wrong with that, I am obsessed with the realm of real estate and want to completely immerse myself into investing.

My questions are:
How would a beginner, like myself, approach real estate investing with no cash, credit or credibility? What route is my best bet with said circumstances?

How do I find a mentor to guide my way into this new world I have only recently discovered? Whether it be in my area, over the internet, etc.

Also, is there any advice that anyone in this business would give to their younger self if starting at this age?

I know the road isn't easy but I know starting early on and giving 100% of my efforts, the road is doable.

[Bill Gulley]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Im 19 years old in San Antonio, Texas and I want to take on the heart of San Antonio with real estate investing. I have no previous knowledge of the subject but I am more than willing to get educated and put in the time and work to turn this into my living. 

I graduated with a 4.0 in high school but was not interested in pursuing college and finding a job in corporate America. While there is nothing wrong with that, I am obsessed with the realm of real estate and want to completely immerse myself into investing.

My questions are:
How would a beginner, like myself, approach real estate investing with no cash, credit or credibility? What route is my best bet with said circumstances?

How do I find a mentor to guide my way into this new world I have only recently discovered? Whether it be in my area, over the internet, etc.

Also, is there any advice that anyone in this business would give to their younger self if starting at this age?

I know the road isn't easy but I know starting early on and giving 100% of my efforts, the road is doable.

I didn't read the other replies, your question has been asked hundreds of times on BP and all the responses are generally the same, start here, read this or get with this strategy. Pretty much the blind leading the blind usually.

I did my first deal at your age, the circumstances were different, a very good family friend, a doctor's wife was in real estate, they owned a house as a rental and she sold it to me, actually, it was more of a wedding gift and I lived in the house.

At your age, I had a carpet business, I worked with contractors and the public. I knew my products, knew the labor side, knew just enough business to be legal and ethical. My biggest problem was being taken seriously by "adults" as I was still just a kid who thought I was an adult.

Fact is, you can't even buy me a drink to talk about business. You have nothing to bring to the table, no knowledge, money, credit or even a business knowledge much less an RE knowledge.

Unlike others, especially those that may only be a few years wiser than you giving you advice, I'm going to give you some grandfatherly advice, with real, long term experience.

You are doing yourself a great disservice by not continuing your formal education. Your future will largely depend on your formal education. College teaches much more than the contents of a subject. At your age, you need to advance yourself conventionally. You're smart enough. In a public forum, you'll get many that failed in getting a good education and they will defend themselves and their choices, it's human nature, but understand those that don't have formal training certainly don't know the benefits, they can't.

We've had these stupid argument on BP before, the 45 year old high school grad making good money investing etc. The examples of some really successful investor who didn't go to school.

All is totally irrelevant, they were then, this is now, you're 19, things will be even more different in 10 years, so these arguments and past examples have no bearing on what you'll be facing.

RE investing, or a job in RE that many call investing, is not easy nor is it a real paycheck, most live from deal to deal for a long time. 80% fail in 2 years and go flip burgers or something else, RE is probably the most over hyped area of opportunities for young people, you need a bit of reality and not fall into some dream pipeline.

I'm not saying you must have a college degree, but you will be better served with one. You can also obtain that goal over time if money is an issue, I don't like seeing kids going into debt either, you can pay as you go. You can't, at 19, say RE is for you, I think if anyone said they selected their profession at 19 and stayed in that career for 40 years, they are probably full of it, few exceptions, doctors, attorneys, engineers or professions, but not in some career that requires no education. I thought I was going to be a contractor, I sure didn't have a clue I'd end up in finance or in dealing in all kinds of business ventures. So, you don't know what will be coming your way and you don't know what elections you will make in the future.

Begin in RE with formal basic RE information, not investing strategies as is sold here. Simple, get a book for real estate agent's they study to get their license in your state. When you understand these basics, which will take about 2 weeks of study, might be one week for you, you'll be ready and in a much better in understanding the investor strategies spoken of here. We have carnival barkers here, snake oil salesmen (gurus) mentors, coaches and other wanting their hand in your pocket offering you an education. If you get that basic education first, you can identify these dealers and save yourself time and a lot of money. You'll be in a much better position to select good mentors as well.

As to education, most here don't have a clue, as they say select your niche.....well, you can't select the best niche based solely on your circumstances, what to do has to do with the market, what opportunities exist in your area, all opportunities are not equal. You could chase wholesale deals for two years if your market has very little depressed housing inventory and very well known rehabbers, you'll likely fail if your market doesn't support the strategy. To identify the market, you will need the formal education about RE, gurus don't teach how to value or identify market trends as it's to complicated to teach in a sound bite.

Again, at your age, your time will be better spent learning, studying and being formally trained. I 'd suggest you try to get deals when you get to a point when you really understand what goes on, but frankly, in reality, it takes time to mature and gain the knowledge that will be required for you to command the confidence of others. :) 

By formal education, I'm speaking of core classes, there are about a dozen college type classes that will give you a much greater head start than the ones who don't have such knowledge. Don't need a degree, but I hope you do to compete in your future.