Step 1 Day 1, Introduction! 18 year old REI

[Jayden Walsh]

Hey everyone, my name is Jayden Walsh. I'm a freshman studying business at the University of Minnesota (Carlson School of Management), and I'm asking for your help getting my feet underneath me with real estate investing. I've listened to roughly 50+ of the BP podcasts and finally made the decision to join the community. I recognize that I am younger than most members, but I'd much rather begin accumulating knowledge now about real estate investing than a couple years down the road. I guess I'll start off by asking, if you were in my shoes and had the chance to start all over again, where would you start? What would you do differently this time?  Any reply would be highly appreciated! Thanks you guys and happy investing.

[John Woodrich]

I will probably be the only one to recommend this but I would first and foremost focus on school and enjoying your time on campus.  That is a period of your life you can experience or you can pass it up by keeping too busy and being too serious.  Since you are a freshman I take it you are a ways from taking many of the business courses so putting your time into learning about real estate could be a good break from the general courses.  I transferred into the CSOM so I was able to hit the ground running.  It is a good school and there are many good instructors in the business school.  If you have time it may make sense to take some of the entrepreneurial courses.

A background in finance or accounting will help down the road in real estate.  If you do well in that school you will get a decent job when you leave and that is really what you will need to get started.  Your purchasing power is limited if you don't have any cash and if you cannot get financed.

If you haven't read it yet I would recommend reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad and follow the new investors on this site for ideas.