Newbie in Clearwater,FL

[Brandon Z.]

Hello everyone, Background: I'm a 25 year old insurance underwriter in Clearwater, FL. Just had my first kid and am starting to think more long term. I think RE rentals are the ticket to my future. Build wealth by letting other people pay for your homes and make a little on the side. What's not to love? I'm looking to learn as much possible. Currently in my learning phase while I make sure my personal finances are in order to better enable me to jump in. Almost done with The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner. Next on my list is Rich Dad Poor Dad. Currently listening to the BP podcast everyday on my drive in and out of work. My only experience in RE is my primary residence that I bought in 2015. Bought a foreclosure just as home prices were starting to climb back up in my area. Seems to have been a great investment as I'm sitting on some good equity. Haven't decided on to sell or refi to take that money to invest yet. My biggest obstacle is going to be getting my wife on board. She is not a fan of being a landlord. She's ok with flipping to an extent but I'm not looking for a second job myself. I have a bunch to learn and a handful of questions. I look forward to connecting with you and hopefully giving back someday. Brandon

[Jeff Stephens]

Hey Brandon, congrats on getting your education started! It's good to meet you. It sounds like you've got the right approach: jump in and start devouring as much education as you can find.  Ultimately, though, you'll get more out of that education if you begin finding real ways to apply it in deals--the sooner the better, in my humble opinion.  To get some hands-on practice as soon as possible, I'd recommend you find a few listings, drive by them, and do some analysis--just for practice.  Ask yourself questions like "what do I think the after-repaired value of this is?", "If I were going to buy this to flip it, what would I need to pay for it to make it work?", and "if I were to rent this out, what would the monthly pro-forma look like?"  Questions like this are the blocking-and-tackling of real estate investing, and going through these exercises for yourself will help you begin to get a sense for your market--rental rates, sales price metrics, etc.