Young aspiring real estate investor/entrepreneur

[Elton Williams]

I’m a young African American from Houston Texas who fell in love with real estate. My ultimate goal is to create generational wealth through real estate and leave my kids/family with wealth and passive income. My main interest is House Flipping, Buying and holding, and rental properties. I do a lot of research due to the fact I don’t have enough capital to invest and I’m only 17 years old . 
The reason I’m posting is because I’m looking for advice on what exactly I should do next to reach my goal . I go to college to start my freshman year of college next year . I plan on receiving a degree in entrepreneurship while learning trades in carpentry, and maybe electrical and plumbing as well each summer . I know school is not necessary for my goal but I am in a situation to where I get paid to go to school because of my fathers death. I might even be able to save enough money to invest In real estate out of college . I always plan to learn Spanish so that I can communicate with contractors and other Spanish speakers in real estate etc. 

Given that this is my plan what do you recommend i should add or take away to it ?

[Guifre Mora]

@Elton Williams your off to a good start today. It’s about the attitude.

Go to college because it’s free and that will catapult your income potential and you can learn business.

If you want to start in RE, keep learning and save some money it doesn’t take much. To purchase a income property.

20/30k if you do your homework.

[Seth Williams]

Take time to educate yourself like you are doing, and read a ton of books, crush the pod casts and what not, and keep grinding. Save the $ and when you have the opportunity to, buy your first place 4 units or less with FHA low money down, owner occupied and you will be 100% better off than the vast majority of us who started later than you! Go get it brother!

[Mitch Messer]

Hi @Elton Williams and welcome to BiggerPockets!

I love your goals!

Here's what I would add/enhance:

• Read, Read, Read - Study real estate, certainly, but don't neglect topics like sales, negotiation, economics, and psychology. BiggerPockets can help with a lot of this. PM me here for my recommended reading list, if you dare!
• Languages - Yes, learn Spanish. For the biggest bang for you buck, I'd also consider Mandarin. Those two are both on my list as well, for starters.
  
• Math Sense - Get very comfortable with numbers, especially percentages, rates of return, exponential growth, etc.
• Build Your Network - Now is the time to get serious about developing a world-class network. Get to it and keep excellent notes.

Finally, complete your profile here on BP: No one wants to network with a cipher!

Good luck!

[Tyler Combs]

Hey Elton, awesome to hear about your goals and action plan.  Way to get after it!  I would just add an emphasis on studying/learning as much as you can about the financing side.  Learn everything you can about proformas, debt and equity analysis, fundraising and tax shelters for sellers and investors.  Your understanding of the finance side will really determine your the speed of your portfolio growth.

[Elton Williams]

I’m loving all the advice ! It’s so hard to find . I thought I was solid with my plan but I’m learning that I’m not quite done yet. I love what I’ve read and I can’t wait to read more . And I Will be putting the advice into action today ! Thank you guys again !

[Luciano A.]

@Elton Williams

Howdy fellow Houstonian. Great to see you are starting young. Let me know what area of town you reside on as I'm about to start building another SFR and another builder buddy got one up in the air. Got things going in Sunnyside and East End. Between myself and partners you can get some advice and see first hand new construction and it's process as well as rehabbing multi-family. Where are you going to college?

[Elton Williams]

Originally posted by @Luciano A.:

@Elton Williams

Howdy fellow Houstonian. Great to see you are starting young. Let me know what area of town you reside on as I'm about to start building another SFR and another builder buddy got one up in the air. Got things going in Sunnyside and East End. Between myself and partners you can get some advice and see first hand new construction and it's process as well as rehabbing multi-family. Where are you going to college?

I plan on attending Sam Houston State at the moment but things can change . I stay around the Webster area but I’m definitely willing to commute around to get my feet wet and be around you guys to gain some more knowledge. I have an open schedule especially on the weekends and am free after 1 during the week. I would love to talk more if possible about real estate. 

[Sarah Brown]

Originally posted by @Elton Williams:

I’m loving all the advice ! It’s so hard to find . I thought I was solid with my plan but I’m learning that I’m not quite done yet. I love what I’ve read and I can’t wait to read more . And I Will be putting the advice into action today ! Thank you guys again !

 I love that you are getting such an early start!  I have been following RE since I was around your age, but never brave enough to jump in like you are.  I am now 35, two degrees, and six years into investing.  I have worked in a variety of different trades and all have paid off in the investing.  I know enough about construction to understand what needs to be done, how long it should take, and what I can expect to pay. I can usually ask the right questions, and find creative (good creative) solutions.  The experience has been very valuable to my real estate career.  I agree with the others who are saying get your education while you can since it is free.  Take advantage of your position to start saving money and you will be MILES ahead when you are ready to buy your first property.