Where to start with REI? Mentorship?

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You can learn everything for free right here on BiggerPockets and by reading a few books. Check out my generic advice below, followed by some advice on mentorship. 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 Turner or 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 of your personal 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. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.5. Study the market. You can learn to do this on your own or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR that works with investors and knows how to best help you. 6. 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.A mentor can really accelerate your growth, no matter what level you're currently at. They can sharpen skills you already have, or expose you to things you've never even thought of. Unfortunately, a good mentor isn't always easy to find.Think about it. You're asking someone to spend a lot of time and energy to share what they've spent years - maybe decades - learning and developing. That's a lot to ask of a complete stranger! Why would they want to invest in you? How do they know their investment will not be wasted? What can you offer in return?You are far more likely to find a mentor through in-person networking and building relationships. The mentor will have an opportunity to know you, see your determination and will, and then decide to pour their time and energy into helping you develop. Go to NETWORK at the top of your screen and search for other investors and investment groups in your area. You can also check meetup.com or search facebook for real estate investment groups, clubs, or meetings in your area. Start building relationships and looking for someone to partner with.How to find a mentorNot every successful person will make a good mentor. Not every good mentor is a good mentor for you. Here are a few things to look for:1. They should have current experience and plenty of it2. A love for real estate investing3. A desire and ability to share their knowledge4. The ability to speak the hard truth with empathyIt doesn't matter how good a mentor is: if they don't mesh with you personally, it's going to be a disaster. That's why I stress the importance of building a relationship first. You need someone that clicks with you personally before engaging in a mentor/mentee relationship with the dedication and stress that may be involved.Where to find a mentorStart by looking within your existing network. Do you have a family member or friend that's achieved what you want to achieve? Remember, it doesn't need to be Grant Cardone! As a beginner, you can learn a lot from your uncle with a few rentals in another state or a co-worker that's on their second house hack. Make a list and start looking closely at each one to see if they are an option.If you can't find someone within your network, expand your network. This entails building personal / working relationships with people successful in the field. You could do this in the BiggerPockets forum, but it's hard to build relationships with people from other states behind a keyboard. Get out and rub elbows with local investors by joining a real estate investor group in your area. Even if you have to travel a couple hours, you have a much better chance of finding someone.How to approach a mentorOnce you've found a likely candidate, it's time to reach out and ask. Some tips:1. Have a goal. Let them know - as specifically as possible - what you are trying to achieve. If you walked up to Michael Jordan and said, "I want to be learn sports" he would walk away. If you told him you have been playing pickup games for the past year and need help improving your jump shot, now he has evidence you're motivated and a specific goal he can quickly help you work towards. Example: "I would like to build financial independence through real estate investing. I'm not sure what the right path is, but I've been reading about investing in owner-occupied, multi-family properties. I've crunched the numbers and if I could purchase three four-plexes in the next ten years, that would give me the financial independence I'm looking for."2. Make a short list of questions to ask. Even though they are the expert, you still need to ensure they are a good fit for you. This is an opportunity for you to confirm they have the expertise you need. You don't want to start a relationship to learn about storage units and then find out they only invest in single-family homes.3. Practice your pitch! How you approach the mentor demonstrates how you will approach real estate investing. If you don't do the homework, you will give them the impression you may not be up to the task of doing the homework with real estate investing. You should be able to express your goal in one minute and then expand if questions are asked. It sounds cheesy, but the best way to prepare is to work with a friend or two and role play. Think about what questions the potential mentor may ask and how you would answer. Practice these answers until they roll of the tongue. Be prepared to demonstrate what you've learned so far and how hard you will work to put their advice to work. This is a two-way interview, so have a short list of questions to ask the mentor (What books do you recommend I read to gain a better understanding? What, specifically, would you recommend my first step be? How can I help you achieve your goals in exchange for you helping me?)4. Know how to take constructive criticism. A smooth sea never produced a skilled sailor (Franklin D. Roosevelt). You will make mistakes. You won't understand something and need it beaten into your head ten times. If you feel they're being too harsh, think about their intent. Maybe they communicate differently but have good intentions. If they're not challenging you, or your personalities just don't mesh, be prepared to give them honest feedback. Let them know if they're not a good fit and you need to move on.5. Pay them back. A successful investor's time may be worth hundreds of dollars per hour. They're willing to share it with you for free, so try to find ways to pay them back. I've heard of mentees that started out cleaning up construction areas on a flip at the end of each work day or picking up supplies at Home Depot and delivering them to the job site. Some mentees will act as a bloodhound for the mentor, knocking on doors, driving for dollars, scouring the internet, making cold calls, or performing other services that help the mentor find new deals. Your mentor has needs; try to meet them and develop a mutually beneficial relationship.A mentor can be very beneficial to your growth, but it's not as simple as one post on a forum full of strangers. Put in the effort, build relationships, prove your value, and improve your odds of finding someone to help launch you on your path.

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Generally speaking, paying for a mentor isn't necessary to kickstart your real estate investing journey.If you have already taken a 7 day course and you already have your real estate license, then you have established a great base.Actionable steps:1. Establish some short term and long term goals. Do you want to flip a bunch of houses and make lump sums a few times per year? Would you prefer a slow drip of income every month? Do you want to buy single family homes and hold? Or multifamily? Are you open to construction/renovations?2. Pick a market you'd like to invest in. Ideally close to home where you are already very familiar and where you can physically be involved with the project/property. Hone in on an area. Pick a couple of zip codes that you will target.3. Start analyzing tons of deals. Bring questions here to the forums as they come up. Learn about what neighborhoods get the highest prices, what finishes buyers and tenants are looking for, how long homes sit on the market, how much homes rent for in the area, etc.4. Start making offers.

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@Lisa Koff I would agree with what @John Warren stated in that "most of the information you want (to invest in real estate) is free on sites like BP," however, I find that the way in which that information is put together can lead you to success or failure. Imagine baking a cake and having all of the ingredients, but not having the recipe. The internet will give you the ingredients of investing, but a coach can help you with the recipe. I think that going to meetups in your area to meet with other investors can be great but it doesn't necessarily mean that you will become a great investor. Imagine hanging out with a great MMA fighter. Does hanging out with that person make you a great fighter? Or does being coached by that person make you a great fighter? People that are negative towards coaching have either been burned by a coach, know someone who has been burned by a coach, don't want people to be taken advantage of, or they don't want to spend the money to learn something they think they could learn on their own for free. They would rather learn for themselves through research and trial and error. I have spent over 100,000k in coaching programs and mentors since 2015. The things that I learned and the connections I have made in these programs have made me a multi-millionaire.

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@Lisa KoffKey things that I feel are most important to know if you are considering getting into investing or if you're in the early stages of building a real estate investing business.• Find a mentor you can trust. I can't stress enough how important it is to find a mentor in this industry. Having a mentor when I first got started in real estate was key to my growth. Utilizing the benefit of someone else's experience greatly reduces your learning curve.• Define your goals. I think it's safe to say we all get into real estate investing at least in part for the freedom it can provide. But what does that look like for you? How large or small of an organization do you want to build? What is the end goal you are hoping to achieve? Real estate is often just the vehicle to get us to a bigger life goal, so make sure you are casting a vision for your company (or yourself) that aligns with your goals.•Educate, but be an action-taker. Many people sit on the sidelines spending way too much time educating themselves to the point where they are overloaded with information and become too afraid to take action for fear of making a mistake. While it's always important to evaluate risk, it's also important to take action on what you've learned and learn from your mistakes. It's also worth mentioning that taking action on too many things can be detrimental, because you may end up chasing shiny objects and never accomplishing anything of real value.• Self-evaluate. This is a tough one because you have to be willing to take an honest look at yourself. Where are your strengths and weaknesses? Once you know where you're weak, hire out for those areas. Delegating responsibly is key to growing a business with a good foundation. For example, running appointments and managing employees are my personal areas of weakness. Once I realized this and was able to hire out those positions, my life became much less stressful because I wasn't trying to force myself to do the things that didn't come naturally for me.• Automate where possible. With all the technology and resources out there, it's counterproductive to waste time doing tasks that can be easily automated. Avoid getting stuck in the weeds by looking for areas in your business where automation can be your friend. This leaves you more time to do the things that will move your business forward.• Track your marketing. Marketing is the No. 1 expense when getting started in real estate investing. By tracking your marketing spend and return on investment (ROI), you can see how effective your marketing is. This also allows you to make informed decisions about where and how to spend your marketing dollars, and understand how well your message is being received.• Start small, and build a strong foundation. There are a lot of gurus out there preaching about growing and scaling an REI business, but remember, bigger isn't always better. Scaling an operation that doesn't have the proper foundation will only lead to problems down the road. Creating systems and processes, hiring the right people who are a good fit for your organization, and keeping a finger on the pulse of your business will lead to an operation that is scalable and successful.It's important to remember to build a business that fits into your life, rather than building your life to fit around your business. Otherwise, you'll put yourself in a box that will never allow you the true freedom that can be achieved by investing in real estate. By focusing on these key points when getting started in REI, not only can you build a bigger business over time if you choose, but it will be a better business.All the Best!

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Since you already have a background of sorts, I would just hang around this forum ( a lot), asl questions and soak up the knowledge that is here. If you really want a personal relationship, then I'd keep it to < $5k. No need to pay some of the outrageous amounts we hear about here.....

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@Lisa Koff Paid coaching works if you have a good personalized coach and if you are willing to do the work.

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Hey Lisa! BPCON (the BiggerPockets Conference) is a great time to meet investors at all levels! There are 20 sessions (plus the keynotes!) that are suitable for real estate rookies 🙂 This year it's in San Diego on October 2-4. It's an even mix of content, events, and networking! You can check out the info at biggerpockets.com/conferenceHope to see you in sunny San Diego!

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@Lisa Koff which type of investing interests you? Rentals? Flips? I am going to be the contrarian here... most of the info you want is free on sites like BP. You can also attend free/low cost meetups in your area to meet other investors. Investing is not rocket science...

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Mentors are great. I don't pay for mine though... I would network with people who are investing and doing exactly what you want. See how you can bring them value and let the mentorship blossom naturally. Also, read read read books on it. Spend a year as a sponge. As for being an agent--- do not get discouraged. expect many failures before your first victory and stay persistent no matter what. You got this!

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I'm a huge fan of paid mentorship or coaching in almost any field, especially REI. I was a broker myself and my biggest regret was not paying for a coach, it would have been rocket fuel for my career. If you can swing it, I'd find a great coach or mentor with a paid coaching program and do it. The information itself is essentially free online anyways, but it'll fast track your ability to find that information, and you'll have someone to answer your specific questions. There's also an aspect of access to others who are serious about their goals so the network you have access to through the program is usually very valuable as well.