New Investor in Northern Virginia

[Brandon Arnold]

I figured this would be the best place to make my first ever post on BiggerPockets.

My name is Brandon and I am a 27 year old living in McLean, Virginia. I work full-time as a bank regulator and spend a fair amount of time traveling across the country. My limited knowledge of real estate has been confined to farmland since that is the primary focus of my job. While I think farmland is a great investment for the long term; I'm also vary weary to invest near term given the meteoric rise that agriculture has experienced over the last 6+ years. Commercial investing seems very intriguing to me; however I do not feel I have nearly enough capital for such a venture.

I started trading stocks/options about five years ago and have had many great successes, and many great failures. Through it all I learned the biggest factor in the mistakes I've made has been letting my emotions get the best of me (i.e selling on intuition, not sticking to my strategy, etc.). I've long been attracted to the thought of investing in real estate; however I've always written off the idea since I felt I didn't have nearly enough capital and that real estate deals are far more complicated than purchasing a stock. Though the more I've researched, the more confidence I have gained that this is absolutely a viable investment.

My short-term goal is to find a mentor and possibly even an investing partner. I've been browsing the boards here in addition to reading many articles trying to learn as much as I can. I'm still learning how to start and I'm not entirely sure what steps I should take first. Such as, Do I secure financing before making an offer?, How soon after closing until I advertise for renters, etc.

Above all, I'm eager to learn more and glad I've found my way here.