What do I do next?

[Hydee Vanterpool]

Hello all!!!

My name is Hydee and I'm new to the real estate business. I own my own home and I'm looking to own some rental property in Jacksonville, Fl. I want to be able to do this parttime because I have a fulltime job as a mental health counselor. I checked out some books from the library about property management. I'm not sure what I should do next. Do I form an LLC or Corp? Do I need a real estate mentor? Any recommendations/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Hydee

[Joey Nakayama]

@Hydee Vanterpool Welcome to BP! I just joined the community as well.

I bought by first property a little over a year ago (owner-occupied 3 flat in Chicago) while maintaining a full time job. As I got started I felt very much out of my element and read a few books to get acquainted.

Overall, everything has worked out wonderfully. But if I could go back in time and start over again, I would spend less time reading and planning by myself. These activities felt safe, whereas actually DOING something felt scary. There were so many things to learn. So many risks. I was afraid of skipping some crucial step that every investor knew except me. It was easy to get pulled down a path of "majoring in the minors", as @Bryan L. said, in order to feel more "ready".

So here's my secret: I never actually felt "ready". I still don't!

The tipping point for me was just committing to jump in and building my team to acquire the right property. The moment I chose my first team member (a RE agent with a lot of multifamily experience) I gained both external momentum and an invaluable knowledge base. From that point, I felt compelled to be in action -ready or not- and I learned what I needed to know as I needed to know it.

BP seems like a fantastic place to make connections and gain that kind of momentum. I wish I'd known about it 2 years ago. Best of luck!