I'm 23 and new to real estate, what's your best advice?

Question

Hello everyone,

My name is Dale. I'm a 23 year old Michigan resident and I'm seeking advice on how to get started making money in the real estate industry.

Quick background on me, I'm a licensed contractor in my state and started my own construction company at the age of 18. Things were smooth sailing until I was injured in March of 2016, ankle syndesmosis, and made the biggest mistake of not preparing for such a scenario. Because of the longer than expected recovery, and not being prepared for it, I lost my business, fell into about 30k debt, and I'm now back to working the 9-5 job I had before venturing off on my own for 3-4 years.

So I guess you can say I had everything and lost it all. However, I'm a firm believer that the universe doesn't owe you anything and that get out what you put in. So I'm ready to get back up on my feet and give it everything I've got. I've been contemplating starting the business back up. But with the time off, I have been thinking hard about what I really want to do and it has sparked a passion in me to do something bigger.

I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I've noticed the amount of dedication I put into a task, the drive I have to succeed, the way I analyze and observe things, is something most of my peers simply do not have. In fact, I can't say that within the people know, not a single one of them thinks or sees opportunities the way that I do. Now I know there are millions upon millions of people like me, but it's really opening my eyes that the vast majority of people aren't.

Anyways, I'm diving a little to deep. I'm here to ask advice on how and where to get started in real estate. What opportunities there are, for example, wholesaling, etc. What you might recommend for the situation I am in (near broke, debt, and trashed credit)

I don't have a lick of experience in real estate. The only related skills I'd say I might have are being a salesman, I sold 9 out of 10 bids that I did. Straight out of high school, never had a problem with it. Also being a contractor, I can walk through a property and spot code violations as well as favorable and unfavorable conditions of a home that the average homeowner doesn't see. I have had multiple close friends and family that have called me up to come walk through and inspect a home they were looking at buying.

I'm not looking for an unrealistic get rich quick method, I'm simply looking for valuable pointers so I can optimize my time. Forgive me if there are already threads on what I'm asking for. I have not yet dug around on this site yet and plan on doing so today forward. Thank you for your time in advanced!

Jerry W. · Answer

@Dale Radcliff, I would recommend that you play to your strong suit.  With your construction background you might look for a property that needs a lot of fix up and try for an owner financed deal.  If you are increasing the value of a property why wouldn't the owner think it is a safe deal?  You might also try finding someone to partner with who has skills that complement yours.  They may have money or be good at getting financing.  Finally you might try going to work for someone who is doing what you want to do to learn how to grow into what they are doing.  In any event good luck on your future dealing.

Antoine Martel · Answer

Hey @Dale Radcliff

Welcome to BP! I'm glad you're here.

I'd love to connect sometime about REI. I have been investing for the last 2 years and have done fix and flips, BRRR projects, and buy and holds. I have done all of these deals out of state and have teams in the cities that I work in. I'd love to share with you what I have learnt over the last couple years. Connect with me and I'd love to chat!

Brian Mcguire · Answer

you have a very unique situation, you have something to trade local investors. You have a skill to offer,  in trade for knowledge . offer to general contract  for help in researching or what to look for. there is a lot of things you can do until you get your credit repaired if you don't have friends or family to borrow with

John Thedford · Answer

OPM is the key if you lack a lot of money. Borrow from friends or relatives. Buy, rehab, sell. Most states allow this without licensing. There are many unlicensed brokers promoting "wholesaling" using contracts to circumvent the laws. There are pitfalls to that often not mentioned. Entering into contracts with no ability nor intention to close is called FRAUD BY INDUCEMENT and can result in YOU being sued. I personally have 12 rentals worth about 1.5M and I could have never accomplished this without OPM.

Tim VandenToorn · Answer

@Dale Radcliff Keep your nose to the grind.  Network with investors, property managers, realtors, and even locals homeowners.  Look for distressed or abandoned houses in the area you want to invest. Perhaps there are creative partnerships you could form with someone?  You obviously have skills and knowledge in construction and remodeling which you need to use to your advantage.  This is a valuable skill for investors, and you could likely form a partnership with some who lacks this skill but perhaps has money to invest.    Start looking at investment properties and get familiar with the expenses and income.  Identify what rate of return you are comfortable with or how a partnership would be formed around these numbers.  Once you find a great deal, reach out to your network and put something together! Sounds easy right? =) Real Estate investing is exciting.

If you need anything feel free to contact me directly.

Ray Lai · Answer

@Dale Radcliff

Based on your background where you owned a construction company, I'd highly recommend attending a local REIA or one near Grand Rapids (Hot in Michigan right now) where investors need someone to do the management of their rehab work. You can apply your skills there while learning from your partner on deal acquisitions.

In real estate there's so many ways to make money, and people like to espouse advice that worked for them without taking into account a person's skill set.

Once you make some cash and get out of your debt, you'll learn way more partnering up with someone that is needing someone to manage their rehabs and good at acquisition and then you can plan from there what you want to do.

Super important to get out under crushing debt, but you can be learning while doing so and making important business relationships at the same time.

Brett Snodgrass · Answer

@Dale Radcliff Welcome to BP Site!

Well in responding to this, I want to address a different issue all together, first. I’d encourage you to try all you can to get a marketing budget. Now there are a lot of ways to get started in real estate investing using other people’s money, but there is nothing wrong with the old fashion way of saving up and paying for things on your own. That said, I think one of the easiest ways to find deals is to go to Craigslist and filter through all the

crappy stuff to find the gold. In my market at least, there are still great deals to be had on Craigslist, it just takes a lot of time to find them. If you dedicate yourself and create a system, and you stick to it, Craigslist can be a source for your first couple of deals until you can save up for a direct mail campaign. A good guide to help with this is:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/04/2...

I personally love wholesaling over any other real estate investing strategy. I love the excitement and hunt of the deal and then the reward of making my investor buyers happy with a great property. I tried being a flipper for 3 and a half years, and in my experience, I made about the same amount of money that I did as a wholesaler, only with a lot more stress and headache.  Now, I would say it depends on what kind of wholesaling you do, as there is a lot more risk and stress involved in assigning contracts then what I do in buying the property fully, and then reselling it. And my method does take a lot more working capital, but for me the transaction is cleaner and simply less hassle. If you’d like to learn more, I wrote a blog post on BP a while back comparing and contrasting the different strategies here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/09/15/wholesaler­fix­n-

flipper­buy­n­hold­investor/

George P. · Answer

Dale,

you have the right mindset. I have 40+ properties in your back yard, have a crew, but we are looking to expand based on the number of jobs i have. if you are looking for extra work, lets connect. or at least you can pick up pointers from me... been doing this for awhile

Brandon Lancaster · Answer

Also sorry to hear about the Loss, Although most often i find a Loss Leads ME to much more Beneficial opportunities and a major life learning lesson.

The Main Reason this thread Caught my Attention ( other then your from Michigan as So am I)

Is Your Story..Everything from your Carreer,The Loss, Your Motivation , Determination & Natural Abilities.

My Story is "Nearly a Mirror" from yours..from my exp. in Const.(Have 18yrs and just Completed my Res. Builders' Lic. 60 hr Pre-Licensure Course & will be Testing soon.) Also Had My Own Company for few yrs. and went through the difficult "Loss /(learning exp )as you have.

And " Your Thoughts" about the people around you in Comparison ro yourself. I also have long Witnessed and Felt this way.

Not sure where your at in Mi i haven't looked you up or anything.. But I HAVE been studying Real-Estate for Several Months Now & am Looking to Network,Speak with, Create Relationships and Possibly Partner on Some Deals.

Give me a shout or K.i.t

I'm 23 and new to real estate, what's your best advice?

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