Sure wish I knew about this 20 years ago!

[Jason Washam]

For starters, I am almost 44 with a 10, 8, 7, 6 mo old and a newly built house in the last year. My wife took off work to stay home with the baby so we have been living on one income, which has made things tight and even dipped way into our savings. My Dad was always an Entrepreneur at heart but never mustered up the strength to take a chance. He worked to provide for the family and even though he hated what he did, he did it for us. I have found myself doing exactly what he did. He passed away due to Alzheimer's a little over 3 years ago and I made up my mind then that I would not continue to hesitate like he did. I want to leave something for my kids. I want a better life for them and to be able to have more time for all of them. I want them to be able to work with me as the grow so they can learn these processes as well. It seems I started everything later in life and if I have to be mid 40's to start REI then so be it.

I think I am similar to most newbies that get on here. My DTI is too high and I don't have a lot of money to play with right now for a down payment. I live just outside of a 4 college town that has lots of multifamily properties and single-family units that are screaming for BRRRR. It is frustrating reading all of the content on BP, reading Brandon's book and listening to all the podcasts and being mentally ready to go (with still a lot of self doubt!) but not having the financial stability yet. My wife is so supportive as well. She and I have similar tastes and she sees the vision of a remodel well and knows how to cut costs to make a property look nice.

With all of that said, I appreciate this site and the content it contains. I am continually growing and learning (recently earned my MBA) and will continue to do so on the REI side of things. I know there is no magic money tree that will allow me to get my first property so I will just have to continue to work and try and save until I can do something. With 4 kids, a mortgage, 2 vehicles and some student loan debt it will be more of a challenge but I plan to make my REI mark here in Central Arkansas for my family's future!

[Cory Cox]

@Jason Washam - Welcome.  Love hearing that drive.  I fully believe GRIT is the one thing that will get you through whatever goals you have in life...and that includes in ALL areas of your life as well (not just money).  Just remember inch by inch turns into foot by foot which turns into you finally looking back and you have came a heck of a long way from where you are.  SMALL WINS. EVERY. DAY.

I am in Conway as well so I know the market well.  If you are seeing any great deals, you need to be sure and share that with someone who is buying.  I feel very confident that if someone that has done deals before wouldn't mind giving you X money or X experience into getting into the game.

The biggest hurdle I found getting started is...in fact...getting started.  One deal won't make you rich, one deal won't break the bank. BUT one deal is pretty much guaranteed into a second deal I can assure you which compounds into what @Ray Fisher spoke about earlier.

Find a way to add value, knock down that debt and NETWORK!  It ain't about what ya know, it's who and I promise you if you make good tiny steps in a determined direction it will pay dividends down the road.

Best of luck.