How much should you know before you start?

[Dennis Estenson]

I've been looking seriously at investing in real estate for the last month and have been learning a lot. Obviously, I've only scratched the surface of information in that time, but I'm itching to get started.

How much do you really need to know before you get started talking to sellers and prospecting for deals? On one hand, I think you should have a strong base of knowledge to be credible and have a good chance of success, but on the other, there's no teacher better than experience.

What would you recommend as a game plan for someone in the first, say, 6 months of a real estate investing endeavor? How much time should you spend studying before getting your feet wet? Should I spend 6-12 months learning the business inside and out before doing anything, or should I go out and do sooner rather than later?

Thanks,

Dennis