When to start

[Derek Price]

Hi, I'm Derek Price in Kingsport, Tennessee. I'm 23, currently working at a paper mill. The money is good (enough, I guess), but the hours aren't fun and I have absolutely no freedom to live life the way I want. Thus, I absolutely have a strong "why" to start investing in real estate. My question is 'when?' My wife and I recently bought our first house (30 year conventional loan) - very recently, as in we close on it in less than a month - a single family home that we plan on making home for quite some time.. So, not an investment. My question is when should I take that leap and make my first investment purchase? Is there a certain amount of cash that I should have in the bank? Ive been constantly reading, learning, studying real estate for the past couple months. Ive been through the free course on BP, and I certainly have an all in attitude. Investing in real estate is definitely what i want to do. I'm not sure which niche/strategy I want to go for yet, partially out of fear of picking the wrong one. Im not sure exactly what my next step should be. Sorry if I got a little wordy, just want to get my situation out there and hopefully get some good advice. Thanks in advance for the help!