24 Years Old And Eager to get Started in REI!

[Sam Khoshnavaz]

Hello BP Community!

First and Foremost, I want to thank each and every one of you for all that you guys do within this community. I can't think of a better way to distract myself from homework than to be reading on all your guy's posts and comments! 

With that being said, here is my short story:

Currently, I am a senior at San Diego State University graduating with my bachelor's in accounting in less than 2 months.  As I have gone through this whole college experience, I have come to realized that I have zero interest in accounting, and from what my friends who are in the field have shared with me, I can't see myself working in an environment like that (at least to only enrich the person above me). 

Lately, all I have been doing is searching sites like Zillow and Redfin; looking at properties and analyzing them.  I have become really good at analyzing deals and learning about my local market and my hometown market of St. Louis MO. I have also looked at other markets as well such as Birmingham, Memphis, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Indianapolis. However, all the analyzing I do doesn't get me closer to my dream of owning multiple rental properties and being financially free.  

Financially, I can't say that I am completely ready to put 3-20% down on an investment property yet (and definitely not ready to do so in San Diego). Besides my part time job working on a golf course, my only other source of income comes from an online ecommerce site that I created 2 years ago (which generates me around $1000-2000) a month on average and a liquidation business that I have started with a friend of mine reselling returned/used Home Depot items. Overall, I'd say my monthly income before expenses is roughly $3,000.

With all that being said, here are some questions I have that I hope you guys can assist me with:

1.) What should I do to expedite my real estate investor career?

2.) I'm planning on getting my real estate license soon and practice as an agent here in San Diego: Is this a wise decision?

3.) What was the hardest thing that you had to overcome when initially getting started?

4.) What tips do you have for someone who is looking to invest in properties out of state?

5.) What makes you the most happiest as an investor?

6.) If you could start all over again knowing what you know now,  what would be the 3 top things that you would do right away?

I know this is a lengthy post and I apologize. And to those who have made it down to this part of the post, I salute you! I hope that this discussion also helps others like me who might have the same questions get some answers as well.  

Again, thank you to everyone in BP for making this such a welcoming community!