Read to learn... but a little skeptical

[Victoria J.]

Hello BP,

I've been a BP member for years but haven't posted anything until now. I'm honestly slightly skeptical about the type of responses to 'dumb' questions that I as a novice will undoubtedly ask will receive. In the past, in different areas (online and in person) I've been meet with less than supportive opinions. (Opinions on general questions.. Not this is a bad deal don't clean out your 401k for it! Cautionary advice will be a much valued thing.) But after reading/listening to Brandon and the other contributors rave about the collaborative and encouraging vibe of BP, I'm finally here!

More about me (us). I have wanted to flip houses since I was probably 12 or 13, if I'm being honest. (Product of a single mother who was always working on our home I suppose.) Now my husband and I are finally ready to start. Having said that.... while my husband is very much on board with investing, (flipping and renting alike) the task of finding out exactly HOW to do this has fallen to me. Which brings me here. We have a goal of buying at least one property (preferably to flip) before the end of the year. (Six months to learn and pull the trigger? We'll see!) On top of that we have a few big things going on outside of investing which makes this more frightening to me. 

1.) We are new to the area we live in currently. (Northern Virginia) 

2.) Chances are good that we will be moving to a completely new area after the new year. (military life for you)

3.) And last.. We are expecting our first child together in this time frame. 

Even with those events, my husband is sticking to this modest goal of one house down. So with all of that, now I will be diving into the Bigger Pockets universe to learn what I have to to make this goal a reality. Hopefully I wont drive our family off of a financial cliff! Thanks in advance for the help all. 

-Victoria

[Jack Butala]

@Victoria J. welcome to BiggerPockets!

Glad to have you here and excited that you and your husband are finally taking action.

I know real estate investing can be frightening for someone who's a newbie.  What I would do if I were you would be:

1) Be a sponge and soak up all the free information you can, Victoria.  There is a wealth of information here from the podcasts to the blogs to the articles and even the forums. 

2) Network with other experienced investors on here.  Once you get your first deal brewing, bring it here so the experienced investors can analyze it and help you do your deal the correct way.

3) Consider joining a real estate investment club in your area.  It is there you can network with investors doing it in your area as well as real estate professionals (i.e. appraisers, title company reps, lenders, contractors, escrow officers, etc.)

We are also happy to help in any way we can.

Congratulations once again, and I wish you the best of success in real estate investing!!