Extreme Noobie to Real Estate

[Mike Rodriguez]

Hi All! Super new to real estate and thought this would be a great first step to join BP! I would love for someone to provide me with more information on getting started as I'm somewhat lost on how the order is to do this.

1. When looking at properties, do I decide first my goal (rental or flip)? Or do I look at the property and then decide? 

2. After looking at a property I like, I start searching for financing?

3. At what point in the buying process am I supposed to know if I'm putting my property in an LLC or not?

4. What happens after a offer is accepted?

Looking forward to feedback, I know it's generic but I would really appreciate some help!

[Scott Passman]

Hi @Mike Rodriguez welcome to BP!  There is so much to expound upon with these questions but here are a few quick answers:

1. You need to determine what your goal of investing is and how you want to achieve it. There are so many ways to get involved with real estate that you need to pick a path that suits you and your goals and learn everything you can about it. If you look at everything you will get stuck in analysis paralysis as there is just too much out there.

2. I would focus on determining what your goal is. This will help you determine what kind of capital you need and if you would be looking to use a conventional loan, private money, hard money etc.  Once you figure that out, it's never too early to start planning for different ways to finance. 

3. You will get lots of different points of view on this. My advice right now is don't get hung up on an LLC at this stage. Learn the basics first, figure out what you want to do, and then think about whether or not forming an LLC is the right move for you.

4. After an offer is accepted you move into the "due diligence" phase at which point you need to do as much homework on the property as possible to determine if you want to move forward with the transaction or back out. This would likely include a home inspection, negotiating with the seller, getting your financing all lined up etc. 

Hope some of those answers help point you in the right direction. There is a ton to learn so I would recommend reading up on the different REI routes (wholesaling, fix-n-flip, buy and hold, short term rental etc.) to help narrow down your focus and then go from there. Learn how to analyze a property and get your numbers down solid and just practice, practice, practice. Happy learning!