Help Wanted! Newbie on the Scene.

[Jasmine J. Ward]

Hi there and Happy New Year to you all! I'm Jasmine and this is my first forum post on BP. I'll go ahead and admit that I'm not a REI (yet) and I don't have any experience at all. Like, zero. I'm currently in school for Construction Mgmt. at Kennesaw State University (Go Owls!) and recently, I've been spending a lot of my free time reading books on investing in real estate and listening to podcasts here and there. The information I've received through books and podcasts have been great but a bit overwhelming at times. What keeps me going are my goals for the future. I'm making this my year to get educated and get into action. The hardest part seems getting started. Does anyone have any great advice for a super newbie like myself? I'm sure this question gets asked a lot and I'd truly appreciate any information given. Best.

[Joshua Feit]

Hi Jasmine,

Josh here -- I'm a fellow Atlantan. From Doraville! I'd be glad to chat with you sometime about getting started. It can be tough to get started. I made a lot of mistakes my first couple of years too.

My best advice is to:

• Pick a type of investing that interests you. Don't try to do everything at once; just go for a niche and learn as much as you can about it. (I chose buy/hold investing, and I'm really glad I did!)
• Pick a neighborhood or area, and drive / walk EVERY street. Google street view is not good enough. You need to be there in person, on site, to learn as much as you can, talk with neighbors, and get the feel of the place. This way, when you are looking at a deal, you know exactly what it feels like on that block, and you can move very quickly with your offer.
• Get your funds ready. Do you have cash to spend? Are you going to be working with a bank? Or a private lender? Have a plan and be ready to roll with it so when a deal comes along, you can make a move.
• Educate yourself, but don't over educate yourself. The ONLY way to really learn this business is to jump in, and yes, to make some mistakes. Every person on this forum who has actually made an investment has made a mistake somewhere along the line -- guaranteed. This business has an element of risk, so manage the risk by learning, hanging out with more experienced investors. But don't let the fear of making a mistake stop you. You will make a mistake, you will recover, and you will be okay. :-)

I'm glad to chat more sometime. Some really great folks helped me out when I was getting started, and I'm glad to do that for you. Just hit me up by PM if you want to connect.

Cheers,
Josh