Newbie from St. Louis, Missouri

[Mike Healey]

Hi all, my name is Mike Healey. I live in St. Louis and am looking to get into real estate investing. A little background: I'm 35, have never owned a home and have moved around quite a bit for work - DC, UK, and now St. Louis. A little more background: until the last few years I would say my financial IQ was lacking. I made a lot of mistakes and racked up a good deal of student debt. Good news - I had a good paying job that allowed me to pay that off fairly quickly and I'm now debt free and in a position to invest. I credit this website, along with some key books on economics and investing, as having the biggest impact on my turnaround. I'm particularly interested in multi-family homes, owner-occupying, and networking in the St. Louis area. I'll  have a lot questions about the nuts and bolts of the whole process - finding a deal,  applying for a loan, writing a lease, tenant screening, tax strategies, etc. Looking forward to getting started and engaging with everyone. 

[Brett Snodgrass]

Hi @Mike Healey

Welcome to BP man. Congrats on paying off your student debt. I am excited for you to get started in real estate. I have just a few tips for this site and your starting journey into real estate investing.

Advice for this site...

1) Set up keywords for your area and interests so that you're notified when they're used and then start interacting networking with real estate people in your area

2) Read through The Ultimate Beginner's Guide

3) Go through applicable blogs and podcasts as there are a lot of great resources

Advice for REI...

1) Study up on what you need to know/do for the 1st step and then do it, then repeat for all following steps until you have completed your first investment then repeat the process and keep learning. (this will help keep you from getting distracted or overwhelmed)

2) Attend local meetups in your area 

Just some thoughts. All the best!

God bless.

@Mike Healey