$10k and want to invest it in real estate

[Lucas Ritter]

I have 10k to spend on my first real estate property. I don’t know much about real estate yet. I’d like to here some feedback on what you would do if you had to re-start all over again and you had 10k to invest.

[Theresa Harris]

@Lucas Ritter  I would research my local market to see how much places rent for, vacancy rates, cost of housing and how much you can borrow from the banks.  Decide what type of housing you want; condos generally make less money as you have condo fees, avoid houses with HOAs.  Do you own your primary residence or are you renting?  If you are renting, consider a duplex where you can live in one unit and rent the other.  This allows you to get into the market with less money down.  Find out about local real estate groups where you can talk to others to get ideas, but do not go to the 'how to get rich quick' seminars as the only person getting rich is the person who runs them.

Lastly, and most importantly, know your numbers.  What are the cost associated with owning a rental (insurance, property taxes, vacancies, repairs, maintenance, mortgage, etc) and what is the revenue.  Don't try to make the numbers work, if anything overestimate your costs.  you will have other expenses when buying a home-lawyer fees, there may be a tax associated with buying a home.  You can ask for some closing costs to help.