Brand new to real estate

[Ryan Holmbeck]

I’ve been wanting to invest in real estate for a few years and have been scratching my head. I decided I’m going to go for it and want to learn everything I need to know to get started. I have a basic plan but no direction or mentor. 

[Jon Thompson]

Having a basic plan, like you state you do, is a good start! There is a wealth of information in these forums, and an abundance of advice in general (most of it from people that are not where you aim to be!). That was (and continues to be) a struggle for me starting out. It's tough doing something when you don't know anyone else involved in it. My advice, from a guy that started out with little more than a basic plan, and now enjoys life as a full time real estate investor, is to get your first property under your belt. Don't be reckless in just buying the first thing you can, but don't wait forever either. There are significantly more highly educated real estate "investors" out there that have yet to secure their first deal, than there are folks actively investing. Keep calm when you run in to challenges. Expect to run in to challenges, and remind yourself that if you want to scale it in to something big you have to reframe your mindset because these "big problems" you face starting out will be small in comparison to the ones you'll face as you grow. Good luck to you. The world is evolving every day, and there are dozens of angles to take in the REI world.