First time rental property buyer! Looking for friendly advice.

[Troy Kostick]

Hello! 

My name is Troy Kostick. I am a 26 year old Union Plumbers 4th year plumbers apprentice. The money is good, and is only going to get even better in the next 2 years. But it is blood money, the older I get the less I will be able to do what I do. Before I get too, I would like to start investing into rental properties and create some supplements to my weekly take home so that one day I can get a job thats less physically stressful but still make the money that being a plumber would make me.

 My fiance and I are getting married 2/22/20. Shortly after that my goal is to purchase a duplex in order to begin a slow start in rental investments. Right now we are renting an apartment in Plainsboro, NJ. It is very expensive, and with bills, wedding payments were slowly starting to fall behind. After the wedding, and after my next 2 years of raises, we should be much better off. She is a graphics designer and makes pretty good money, while also grinding most nights and creating an Etsy portfolio for passive income in the long run.

She is very hesitant in buying a Duplex. She knows nothing about real estate, and its not that she doesnt BELIEVE in me to make this happen, shes just nervous. 

I order to ease the nerves I am trying to educate myself as much as I can in the next year. Obviously, this all got kickstarted from reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. My partner at work who is also interested in Real Estate investments suggested it to me. I didn't really have any sort of goals in my life and it was very inspiring. I am now about a quarter of the way through the Bigger Pockets Book on Rental Properties. It suggested somehow inserting yourself into a community of like minded people, and I do not have anyone like that in my life when it comes to these sort of things. So here I am. 

Essentially what I am looking for is maybe some concrete first steps into buying my first Duplex. Any and all information would be absolutely incredible. 

[Jaysen Medhurst]

@Troy Kostick, good on you for getting clear and making smart choices early in your life.

Nothing will convince our wife like a growing check book. Find some mulit-families and show her the numbers. Show her how inexpensively you could live and, here's the important part, tie that you your goals as a couple. Kids, vacations, grad school, whatever.

In the meantime, learn as much as you can and start analyzing a lot of properties. Try to do 5 a day. You have to become intimately familiar with the economic realities of REI. What works, what doesn't and why.

You will need some cash to get going. What can you cut now to be able to save? Take a hard look at your finances and trim the fat. I promise it's there to cut.