Multi family purchase-new investor

[Justin Barney]

I wanted to put this post out to see how other investors got started and their thoughts on how to get started. I'm looking at buying my second primary home and selling my previous home. This would give my family some capital to look at investing. I like the idea of multi family home because of the multiple streams of income to pay down the property or increase my cash flow. One of the things I'm having a hard time with is understanding the number and how to determine if it is a good deal. I have read through tones of number in books and even here but I don't always understand what the acronyms mean and how they equate out. I am pretty good at math, tonight myself calculus, but real estate and finance numbers don't always make sense. I'll be finishing up my MBA here soon and would like to have a better hold on the numbers before I jump head first into investing. I make a decent salary but have a small family and a second baby in the works. I just want to make sure my numbers are correct before taking the risk of multifamily homes. I'm wondering how investors on BP got started and how did you get in the weeds of the numbers before your first purchase? Or did you learn through the school of life and overcame the pitfalls on your own? I want my wife to be my investment partner because she grounds me but she doesn't like the way I figure things because it is mostly speculation from my reading. Let me know your thoughts on getting started, your first purchase and how you found the knowledge to make the right decision?