Newbie with questions

[Ronnie Hickman]

Hello bigger pockets community my name is Ronnie and I'm a new member to the site as well as to real estate. I'm eager to actually get in the real estate game and get my feet wet as far as my first deal. So I'm looking for any pointers or suggestions as to how to be able to notice or find good deals..?

[O'brian R.]

1) Get educated 
Read books (The Millionaire Real Estate Investor and What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cashflow come to mind), listen to the BP podcasts as well as many other real estate related programs (e.g. The Real Estate Guys Radio Show), and start attending your local REIAs. If you can establish a friendly relationship with other real estate investors, take them out for coffee to chat with them and pick their brains. You'll come up to speed much faster if you're actively engaging with other people about real estate.

Oh and of course, the BP forums. 

At this step, you need to establish what your real estate investing goals are so that you can establish the right criteria to guide what properties you'll be looking for. Are you interested in long term buy & hold? Trying to flip? Are you looking for a completely passive investment where someone else will manage? Maybe you're looking for a personal residence as well that you can live in, fix up, and then rent out. Or if it's a 4 plex, get an FHA loan at 3.5% down to live in one unit, manage the other 3 units to gain management experience, move out after a year and then repeat the whole process. Whatever it is, you'll need to have some idea of your investment strategy in order to effectively talk with agents and lenders on your team (step 2).

2) Assemble your team (agent, lender, property managers, etc.)
Now that you have an idea of your buying criteria, you need to assemble your team. You may have to speak with several agents before you come across one that has experience with investors and one that your personality jives with. I'd recommend reaching out to other BP member or investors you come across when you attend your local REIAs for referrals. Once you have an agent, they will send you listings that meet buying criteria (house type, location, condition, etc.). Same goes for lenders. Talk to several. Compare rates, their fees, and it's always helpful to get referrals. If you're going to hire a property manager, again talk to several. Along with your agent, PMs can also help you learn the market in terms of average vacancy/occupancy rates as well as what they think a property can rent for. You want to make sure you check with the PM before you buy a property because if they advise you that a certain property will be tough to rent because of X, Y, or Z, then those are red flags for you as a buyer that you'd want to know.

Though I have steps 1 and 2 listed, you never stop educating yourself. And you never stop networking and talking to other potential team members. It's a continuous process. Good luck Ronnie!