New to Real Estate, what to do ?!

[Christopher Rendon]

Hey everyone,

My name is Chris. I'm 20 years old and I'm looking to get involved in the market. I live in Los Angeles, South Bay area. I recently got my real estate license last week, so I'm looking forward to get that started asap. Only problem is I work full time at a dealership, so it's kind of hard to make the switch so I will have to save up first.

Anyway, all this time, I thought the best investment was to invest in rental properties, and that's what I've been planning to do after I saved enough money. But after reading through forums, I noticed many people prefer flipping over rental properties? Or maybe that's just my skewed vision of the discussions I've been reading. I wouldn't mind flipping houses either, I have no experience so I'll take all I can get, even if that means failing multiple times.

If anyone has any advice on how I should get started or what steps to take, I would greatly appreciate it. I plan to sell a couple properties first to get some money saved, but after that, I'm not sure where to get started so I'll take any advice I can get.

Thanks for reading this,

[Mickey Powell]

Hey @Christopher Rendon, congratulations on getting started young. You're ahead of the game and are well on your way.

Here's my two cents, (coming from an SF Bay Area resident whom is looking to move to Orange County):

Leverage the market's low interest rates and FHA to house hack. Save up $12-20K (or less, depending on where you want to buy), buy a 2-3 bedroom using FHA, and rent out the remaining rooms. CA rents can be strong but house prices are high as well.

Flipping is tough to get into because of the capital needed, unless you're good at finding deals and pitching investors.

Either way, I'd highly suggest continuing your education in your desired market. Have you read through, or started reading, all the free stuff here on BP? There's a pretty endless stream of education and it's ALL beneficial. Start to filter by what you think you want your strategy to be. (Rentals, flips, wholesale, etc)

Below is a cool thing that I've learned in my career about teaching people. It's something I keep in mind when it comes to teaching myself!

Happy to brainstorm, chat, or otherwise be of help. Good luck on your new career and adventure into real estate!

-Mickey