Where do I start with Real Estate Investing?

[Sebastian Heretyk]

Good Morning Investors, to make it short and simple I'm a brand new investor looking to dive into the real estate world. I've been going over all of the material biggerpockets offers and then some. I'd like to ask for your advice. I'm at a spot where I'm gathering lot's of valuable knowledge in terms of looking for financing, finding properties, etc, however, I'm a bit lost and overwhelmed on where to start.

My Situation:

I'm 2 years post college, and am currently running my personal training business, I figured I wouldn't be able to ever stand working for someone at a corporate job so I went onto creating my own branch. I'm able to invest around $5,000 and am trying my best to save any additional income that comes my way. I live in the Chicagoland area-more specifically on the North-suburban side.

Goal: I would love to get started right away. Even though Covid is messing with all of us, I would hate this situation restraining me from doing what I'm starting to be very passionate about. My plan for the next upcoming months is to get a solid team, and start a few house flips for the immediate investment-income and down the line of 6 months start the process of BRRRR.. I'm willing to put much effort on my side, as well as rehabbing with my own hands, not for the money aspect, but to start getting knowledge of every ingredient that adds into real estate investing.

I'm a bit lost and overwhelmed and quite frankly unsure if that's the right way to go about it in my situation. Would love yalls feed back and any recommendations that you can send my way.

All appreciated from the top,

Your future investor ~Sebastian Heretyk

[Nathan Gesner]

I recommend you build a strong foundational understanding of real estate investing.

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by @Brandon Turneror The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control your finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by @Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

3. As you read these books, watch the biggerpockets podcasts. This will help clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. There is a handy search bar in the upper right that makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. Biggerpockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, it will be much easier to recognize a good deal when it shows up.

5. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you just need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a pretty forgiving world and the average person can still make money even with some pretty big mistakes.