How did you know you were ready to start?

[Tiffany Milan]

When you began in REI, how did you know that you were ready to make offers and look for buyers? Did you wait until you got a complete understanding of REI? Or did you just jump in once you had a basic understanding?

[Joshua D.]

@Tiffany Milan We started with little information.  Looking back I was prolly super naive about how the whole game works... however that was like 15 deals ago.  The only way to truly learn the game is by doing it. You can only learn so much from the outside.

If I was you I would listen to like 60 podcast episodes and read 2 books and do it in less than a months time... become addicted... then buy you first rental as SOON as you find that deal that the numbers make sense. 

Good luck! 

[Nathan Gesner]

I didn't even have a basic understanding. I read a book about real estate investing and thought it looked like a good place to invest. I saved up some money and bought something without having a clue. It worked out. As long as you're in it for the long term, real estate is pretty forgiving. You can make mistakes and still turn a great profit.

[Tiffany Milan]

@Joshua D. Love it, we'll do. I have been doing exactly what you said. I have been listening to every podcast that I can and reading REI books. I already have read a few books and attended one of those Than Merrill seminars. I think I am ready to make a few cold calls and see where I really stand. I am so excited. Thanks so much!

[Tiffany Milan]

@Nathan Gesner Glad to see that you made out okay. I have always been interested in real estate, so I don't think commitment is the problem. To be honest, something long-term sounds promising. IMO, it's better than relying on the rate race. Thank you for your honesty.

[Bryan S.]

@Tiffany Milan I became an accidental landlord when I maintained ownership of my old home and bought my current home. I wanted to try it and I have read a multitude of books and listened to many podcasts since. I have since decided to buy more properties, but haven’t yet. I did have a deal fall through- triplex was only legally a duplex and became a nightmare project after the inspection. The seller refused to adjust the price after finding out the third unit was not legal. Good luck with your journey.

[Tiffany Milan]

@Bryan S. Sorry to hear that sounds like a real headache. Fortunately, you didn't let that deter you and that's what I like to hear about, PERSEVERANCE. Please keep me posted about your situation if you can. Thanks for wishing me well and sharing your experience. I will definitely file that in my mental Rolodex.

[Thomas S.]

I am the type of person that studies and researches anything I do fully in advance of beginning. I apply this to everything I do. Knowledge being power. However there is still much to learn first hand by doing. Knowing what to do and actually doing it are different.

When you are fully confident with the theory you are then ready to begin the first hand practical. 

[Bryan S.]

@Tiffany Milan I learned from it, so I am glad the situation happened. I also offered 75k over what was asked, won in that sense, and now I realize nothing is gained from “winning” by having the offer accepted if it is a bad deal. I learned a valuable lesson very cheaply and I am thankful for that.

[Frank Wong]

I was a bit naive when I started at the age of 20.  Read Rich Dad Poor Dad and it made a lot of sense and jumped right into my first property. I don't think I was fully ready and prepared but I knew I would make it work and find a way. I had the best teacher, the school of hard knocks.

I think today it is much easier with BP and youtube to learn and get free information. I think someone can learn at a much faster pace and be much more prepared. At some point, you have to take the training wheels off and go for it.  Starting off small gives you room for mistakes and to learn.  New investors have such a big advantage today with technology.

[Tiffany Milan]

@Frank Wong Thank you for your reply. I am starting to realize that there is no magic formula. The best thing you can do is know your numbers, pick a small section (preforeclosures, absentee owners, tired landlords, etc) and stay laser-focused on that niche. I am starting tomorrow. Tax assessors and cold calling here I come.

[Jessica G.]

@Tiffany Milan When I couldn’t NOT start!!

[Caleb Heimsoth]

@Tiffany Milan. If listened to about 200 podcasts, read tons on BP and read several books too. After about a year of this I felt ready. I still made mistakes but I learned a lot

[Tiffany Milan]

@Jessica G. Exactly. I am almost at that point now. Thank you

@Caleb Heimsoth Agreed. You can't start anything without doing at least a little research. I have gone to seminars, listened to podcasts, read books, and I even worked for a credit agency that ran credit checks on people and reported to the IRS. I still have some things to learn, but I already have an idea of what to say to them. I will be starting soon. I won't know until I try, right?

[David H.]

My first deal was after hurricane Katrina and I just jumped in. Did plenty wrong. Next deal was a few years ago after I read a book on rental investing. Basically I did very little research and jumped in. It worked out but i learned plenty from mistakes. I found podcasts and BP more recently but I had learned most the big stuff by then lol.

[Kate J.]

@Tiffany Milan I knew it when I found a property 200k less then market value.

[Timz Valenzuela]

Hi Tiffany, I have been listening to bigger pockets podcasts early of 2018 and was really into reading books and articles about investing. I know I was ready to jump in but I do not know where to start.

First, I decided on what area I need to invest in ( took me a long time to decide on this as I even read the Long distance investing book!), then after I have decided on the area, that is when I contacted a realtor. I also have to determine how much my budget is for the property.

The realtor informed me that it is advisable to have a pre-qualification before I even start looking so I could scope on the price of the properties. I applied for HELOC (for more buying power) and also for a conventional loan.

Everyday, I was looking at properties through realtor app (also from the lists that the realtor provided)and also analyzing deals based on the webinars of Brandon and David. 

I saw a property that was below my budget, was able to purchase it through HELOC as the seller prefers cash buyer. But the proper needs work as the previous owner has not replaced the roof nor did any improvements on the property. Still working on the improvements and planning to refinance soon.

I was able to purchase the property last September, so it took me a while to finally jump in!

I hope that helps. 

I still listen to the podcasts, read articles and books about REI and investing in general as I have a great deal to learn!

Good luck Tiffany! 

Best regards,

Timz

[Asa Valentine]

Good question, I became almost addicted to youtube videos, and podcasts before I bought my duplex. Of course there was uncertainty with something new, but in my opinion the best way is to jump in feet first and trust yourself and decision making. Good luck!

[Tiffany Milan]

@David H. Thanks for responding. I plan on researching and even attending a class or two if I can. I also read plenty of books and plan on having a good understanding before I even think about touching a contract. I have always wanted to be able to do something like this because I want to help people in bad situations. It is very important to me that I do REI right and give newbies a good name.

@Kate J. That's a heck of a sign. I hope that will be me one day soon. Thanks for the short, but very sweet answer.

[Tiffany Milan]

@Timz Valenzuela That helped quite a bit, thank you. Now that is my idea of doing due diligence. Wow. Congrats I am happy that you succeeded and was able to choose good investing options. I am networking and constantly learning at the moment. I have even found a partner to fund some of the projects and help me lay down some groundwork, but if that falls through I have some creative fundraising ideas. So Timz now that I have some time to learn I can try to find potential cash buyers, a title company or attorney, and maybe I will think about talking to a realtor. First things first though, I will have to take baby steps before talking to realtors. I don't want to do too much too soon. Thanks again!

[Tiffany Milan]

@Asa Valentine I think that I will try a few cold calls. I have a good idea of my niche. I think I am expecting to be a scholar in REI overnight. It is going to take a combination of real-life experience and education to become a skilled investor. This is one of those situations that theory is great and needed to help you understand the basics, but once you are in the trenches, you have no control over what may happen. The interesting thing is that that could go in a good or a bad direction. Whatever it is, I can't wait to see. Thank you for responding, you sound like my kung fu teacher. No fear!

[Tiffany Milan]

@Bryan S. I am so glad you were able to turn a negative into a positive and not become jaded about REI. That story alone will be something for me to consider moving forward. You definitely have to watch out for dishonest sellers. What a snake!

Thanks for your reply and good luck. 

[Llewelyn A.]

I graduated College in 1996 and got my first professional job in 1996.

Then I said to myself..... who do I really want to get rich? The Company I work for or the ME!?

I choose ME! haha!

Bought my first Building in 1997.

Quit my job in 2004, never had to work again (except if I wanted to) as I became financially free.

[Andrew S.]

@Tiffany Milan Hi Tiffany, Just like everything else, thinking about the task is far more daunting than actually doing it. How will you know when you're ready? I don't think you ever do, you just do it. Persistence and tenacity will take you far. Best of luck!

[Paul B.]

If you wait until you get a complete understanding, you'll never get started, because it is impossible to know everything. But don't go in blind either. Learn the basics, and probably some intermediate knowledge too, but you likely can't become an expert without firsthand experience. 

[Jim K.]

@Tiffany Milan

I've told the story of our first SFR rental deal a number of times on BP -- a friend came to us needing to sell quickly and we bought a working property with a tenant in place at a great price. We were literally thrown into the deep end with this.

At that point, I decided I start learning and learning. I am very much the kind of person who will study something for years before taking any chance if I let myself. I call it being prepared, but really I'm hugging the shore out of fear.

My advice is to be conservative in your first deal. Don't look for the home run. Don't go after a D-class property no matter what. Don't look for incredible value. Pay for inspections, pay for expert advice. Be very reserved in your estimation of what you can do and get done with the property. And be prepared to lose money and to fail.

And that's really been the most helpful thing for us. My wife and I started in our late 30s. This was not our first attempt to do something different with our lives. Both of us have run small businesses and multiple side hustles in the past.

Most young people are completely unequipped to deal with failure, and it's only getting worse generation after generation. They need to see themselves as winners. Life is not like that, we all know. Everybody dies in the end. And you don't take your money or your toys with you. So the chief thing this neurotic need to see ourselves as at least NOT LOSERS does for young people is to trap them in a failure-avoidance, risk-avoidance cycle. The unluckiest young people go through life never shedding this mentality, always avoiding the appearance of failure, always avoiding anything that looks like risk. You probably know a few people like that already. They habitually snipe at everyone else they know who does anything risky at all and in the end die whining that they should have done a lot more than they did.

Make up your mind early to accept that failure is an option, and that learning from failure is valuable, and that being seen as a failure in business and life by the broke-a$$ judgey people you know is not the end of the world.