New Member Intro. & Question

[Yvette B.]

Hello,

I am new to the REI world, and am learning so much. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know. I'm a stay-at-home mom with little savings. I've read that having a mentor is important, but honestly, if I invest in one of the many mentors and their programs, I'd have no capital left to begin investing with. Should I invest in a mentor and their program or use the money as the 20% down on a little SFR in a cheaper state, with a hard money loan, to flip or wholesale? I read one article here about wholesalers not able to truly get discounted properties and then not being able to find an investor. I'm totally overwhelmed with information overload, like a dear in headlights. I truly want to begin, and have the motivation, just rather dizzy with information. Any advice would be great.

Thank you,
Yvette

[James Vermillion]

Yvette B.,

Welcome to Bigger Pockets and the world of real estate investing. You ask a very important question and one that can shape your start to real estate investing. I would like to clear one thing up…you do not have to pay for a mentor, in fact, I would encourage you to keep your money and find other ways to learn how to invest. Here are a couple ideas:

1) Find a mentor that will help you for free: If you attend real estate investing association meetings and start looking on BP for members near you, you may be able to find an experienced investor who is willing to help you for free (especially if you can offer them something in return, like assisting them with certain aspects of their business).

2) Continue to read Bigger Pockets. There are hundreds of thousands of great posts and blog posts from new and experienced investors alike, many of which have been in your shoes not long ago. Start learning the basics of real estate investing to find out what kind of investing is best suited for you.

3) Use other online resources. The internet has become a great tool for free information. I even wrote a blog entry about free business courses from some of the nations top business schools.

A couple other things I noted in your post:

1) I would start investing by staying in your local area (especially if the market is decent). It will be much easier for you to manage if you are nearby and you are able to rely less on other people (many of which are looking to take advantage of someone who does not know exactly what they are doing).

2) There are a lot of mixed feelings on wholesaling on BP but I would like to clear up one misconception. Wholesaling is not easy! All of the good wholesalers on BP work very hard and have developed their own strategies over time to become good at what they do. Many investors start wholesaling because it requires little capital and experience, but be careful and make sure you are fully educated before you make a costly mistake or hurt your reputation.

3) Do not worry about information overload. Continue to take on as much as you can until you decide which direction you would like to go and start focusing on it. Learn your market! The most common mistake is overpaying for a property, so make sure you understand your market and make money on the acquisition.

Sorry for the long post, I hope it helps. Keep your money! Use it to line your pockets, not some “guru”! Good luck.