21 year old interested in getting started

[Tasha Beal]

Hello! I am new to BP and it has really sparked my interest in real estate investing - I like the idea of both flipping and buy and hold and see the pros/cons to both. However, I am a 21 year old, full time college student, with little experience. After reading many of the blog posts and forums, I understand the process of finding and analyzing a good deal. I came across some big questions though regarding the process after closing a property.

For flipping - If I were to find a good deal and close on a property, I think I would be stuck afterwards. I don't know any contractors or anything about construction, so would I just have to reach out to contractors in the area? It seems very daunting going into it with 0 house construction/flipping experience. How do people do this without previous experience?

For buy & hold - How would I find tenants? If something breaks, I'm assuming I would need a contact handy to help fix the issue? Also, I wouldn't want to manage the property all by myself, but a small property wouldn't warrant property management. Is the only real option for me to be a landlord?

Thanks for reading this long forum, sorry for so many questions. As you can tell, I have a lot of logistical questions about the every day running of a property. I'd love to hear anything you all have to say!

[Christopher Albritton]

As long as you lead life with a  "Yes before no" mentality there's nothing you can't accomplish.

3 things are needed for any deal - Time, Cash, and Knowledge/Expertise.

In your situation you have time and the ability to build your knowledge. Once you have a game plan made you can approach investors with cash that don't have the time and/or experience to do the deal themselves. There's nothing wrong with totally making up a deal presentation/packet to give investors an idea of what kind of work they can expect from you. If you hit can all the main points, and can explain them effectively then you'll do nothing but attract money to you. The BiggerPockets calculators make creating presentations REALLY EASY.

The best way to gain knowledge, and referrals is to surround yourself with others with the same goals as you. You can find other investors local to you by searching through Biggerpockets (Community tab -> Find Members), or attending local REIAs.

REMEMBER THIS - Do not expect anything for free. If you want someone to mentor you, then you need to offer something in return.

Additionally, check out the BP Store. The books available there are priceless.

• Flipping
  • You basically need to think of exit strategies before even going into a deal. A common exit strategy for flipping is keeping it as a buy and hold if you don't end up selling it.
  • You will have to look for contractors and can vet them by looking up their credentials. I've read that you hitting up Lowe's/Home Depot contractor desk may yield some great referrals, but you can also use websites like Angie's List to look for reputable servicemen/women.
• Buy and Hold
  • Finding tenants is pretty straight forward. Nowadays, there are websites like TurboTenant that can syndicate marketing for you, and help you screen tenants.
  • You could probably find a handyman at the Lowe's/Home Depot contractor desk, Craigslist, maybe even Angie's list too. Where there's a will there's a way.
  • Additionally, if the property can support a property management company (it's good practice to include PM services in your calculations in case you want to go that route regardless), then there's nothing with doing that so you can have it professionally managed, without the headaches involved.

I used to be you. I've yet to get into a property, but I've done A LOT of research, and until you pull the trigger being knowledgeable will be your greatest asset. I personally just want to start off my investment journey using my own money, but if I wanted to I could easily go the route of looking for private money to invest with me.