Introduction/ New to real estate

[Stephen Spradley]

Apologize ahead of time for the lengthy post. Just want to get myself out there!

My name is Stephen, I recently finished 8 years in the Marine Corps and moved to Colorado with a new slate. Real estate investing is a very new concept to me, but something I'm interested in. My only investing experience is very limited to market securities like stocks. I'm 27 years old, have about a month left of paying off some bad consumer debt before I'm what I would consider somewhat financially stable, but want to remain proactive until then. Other than books and podcasts and exploring the multiple resources this site has, any recommendations on how I could get my feet wet or remain proactive in the industry would be highly encouraged. I appreciate the help in advance and cant wait to be more involved. Thanks!

[Leann Lilly]

@Stephen Spradley Sound like you have a great plan for your future.  As far as recommendations go, reach out to some local real estate investors through this site and see if they will meet you for some coffee and get their advise on the particular area you are interested in investing in.  Go to some local networking events or real estate meetups.  Also, practice practice practice.  This site has great calculators and just start out with realtor.com or redfin.com and look at some properties you might be interested in and do the math.  The more you practice the easier it will get.  Also go look at some properties.  You don't have to tell the realtor your practicing.  But you do need to practice for when you are ready to make a deal.  I hope this helps and good luck.