Newbie in Rhode Island

[James Hazelwood]

Other than owning my own home, I have no experience but I'm eager to learn. My primary goal is to purchase and hold a few Single Family Homes as investments to broaden out my retirement assets. Im reading and listening to podcasts.  At this point, I'm at the learning phase, with an eye to make a first purchase as the market turns down in the next two years.   I currently have a full time job that keeps me quite busy, and for the most part I like it. I'm interested in learning from mentors who have taken this approach. 

[Anthony Thompson]

@James Hazelwood Welcome aboard! As you've found, there's a lot of great material here on BP with the articles, forums and podcasts.

I wouldn't necessarily assume or count on the market turning down in the next two years. It's certainly possible, especially if the government does something to muck things up, but as of today I would expect mild increases over the next couple of years.

Since you have an eye toward retirement I'd recommend that you get to know the area within about a 15-20 minute drive of your residence. In real estate we call it "farming" an area.

You'll want to identify the parts of that area you would want to invest in, and probably wouldn't, and you especially want to note any properties that might need some work (if you're up to it) and any that are for rent, as you might contact those owners directly to see if they're interested in selling.

And of course if you're using an agent, you can tell her/him what areas you like and s/he can set up some saved searches for you to alert you as soon as something comes on the market.

It's also worthwhile, since you mentioned mentoring/networking, to recommend you attend a local real estate group such as RIREIG which usually meets the 3rd Thursday of each month - check rireig.com to make sure.

They're also holding a "Landlording in Rhode Island" event for the first time in many years, on November 18th, and I know all of the presenters there and they know their stuff so I'd recommend it. There's a flier with more info on the website.

I hope this helps, and welcome to BP!