Complete newbie from Sandy, Utah

[Ann Werner]

Greetings, everyone!  My name is Ann Werner, and currently I am a stay-at-home mom in Sandy, Utah.  I have been reading many books and listening to podcasts (especially Bigger Pockets!), and am hungry for change in my family.  I do not yet know which niche I would like to pursue--that is why I am trying to gather as much knowledge as I can.  I also realize that location makes a big difference in this respect.  Housing prices are rising quickly in my area as many jobs and people are flooding to the area. 

I do have a degree in economics, but zero experience in real estate.  I have stayed home for the last 12 years to raise my four children, but they will all be in school full time in the fall,  and I want to build an asset portfolio that will will bring cash flow to our family.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  

I am very grateful that I found this website and forum.  Thank you!

[Nicholas Parish]

Welcome Ann and congratulations on taking the first step!

As others will tell you, it all starts with establishing your end goals then finding a way to get there. Are you looking for passive income? Do you want your investment properties to cash-flow? Are you wanting to take a more hands on approach? Are you a cash buyer or are you looking at financing? 

In my opinion, it's important to start with the basic questions to establish your goals. Once you've developed a strategy it becomes easier to see your plan come to fruition. 

I wish you all the best and will do my best to answer any questions you have!

[Ann Werner]

Thank you so much for your reply, Nicholas!

Ideally, I would like the income to be passive, at least while my children are still young.  Even though they will all be in school, I am still pretty busy.  I do know that I don't have any interest in rehab and flipping at this time.  Just trying to land a decent contractor for my own home has been a nightmare.  Builders and remodelers are so busy right now in Utah.  

Investment properties with cash flow are what I am leaning toward right now, but am open to other ideas and opportunities.  We would probably have to do financing, but I would love to be a cash buyer in the future after building my assets.  

 Does being a landlord sound like the best thing for my goals?  I don't know if there are other niches that I am not aware of that better match my goals.  

Thank you!

[Kyle Pierce]

@Ann Werner whatever you decide to do just know if you’re willing to take massive action you can succeed in any niche. If you want to flip homes you’ll have to first figure out how you are going to fund the deal. Are you going to use your own money or do you need to use a hard money lender (very common especially for those starting out), or do you have friends/relatives as a source of capital?

Next you’ll need start finding and analyzing deals. Get On some wholesaler lists so you can start analyzing deals regularly. It takes most people months before they find a deal and feel comfortable pulling the trigger.

If you want to buy n hold, easiest way is to have good credit, some cash that you can put down, and some proof of income so you can get cheap long term financing. Nice thing about real estate is that there are so many things you can get into. Utah is competitive but so is every market :)

[Cherie Orellana]

I would love to connect and show you some of our projects to give you some ideas.