Complete beginner

[Gabi Hanta]

Hello everyone, my name is Gabi and I live in Chicago. I'm married and live in a house that we bought 3 years ago. I've been thinking of getting into real estate for a few good years now and I'm finally ready although deadly afraid. A bit of background: I'm a teacher and my schedule is pretty flexible. I'm also 46 years old so I wonder if you think it's too late for me to get into this business. I would like to primarily buy to hold and maybe a few flips along the way. I have a bit of money set aside for this, maybe enough for a small down payment. My husband is not at all interested in doing this with me but supports me in my endeavors. Any advice with what to do first would be greatly appreciated. This means greatly stepping out of my comfort zone but I'm ready. And any Chicagoans, please tell me where you guys meet to chat/ network if you do so.

Thank you so much.

[Matt Anderson]

Congratulations on making the decision to finally pull the trigger! The decision to invest in real estate alone can be one of the hardest but won't be regretted if done wisely! That being said I don't think there is magic number as far as age is concerned that you need to have invested in real estate. However you may be more risk adverse as you near retirement age and for good reason.

First and for most I would make sure my personal finances are in order before starting to invest in real estate. I say that because many people have their personal finances in such disarray that this carries over to their businesses/real estate. A good starting place is the Dave Ramsey course called Financial Peace University. The cost is a little over 100.00 and would be a great place to get your "personal financial temperature" checked. I would highly recommend taking with your significant other.

After that course you may decide that you are right on track and are ready to jump right in or that you may need to take care of a few personal financial matters first. Once that was done (or concurrently depending on your situation) I would get some real estate education (which I am sure you have done already). I would recommend "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cash Flow" by Frank Gallinelli. This book is a great starting point to understanding/analyzing real estate deals. After you read this book you know what to look for or at least will be well on your way. Knowing what to look for will help you overcome your fear.

One word of caution is don't get caught in analysis paralysis which is very easy to do. You will never know it all (and you don't need to) but get a good foundation and then make the first deal happen. You will learn a lot on the job. Good common sense and the right advisors will go a long way.

Best of luck and if there is anything else I can do please let me know!

Matt Anderson