Getting started in Investing with little to no capital

[Erik J Anderson]

Hello folks, 

    My name is Erik Andersen and I have recently become engrossed in the world of real estate. I am currently working on receiving my real estate license and have become interested the buying/holding side of investment properties, including duplexes, multifamily, etc. Because of that, I have been scouring over different online real estate sources for properties in my area, including Zillow, Trulia, and LoopNet. Of course, when I receive my license soon, I know I will have an even larger pool of access to distressed properties and the like. Despite that, I have little to no capital to invest in currently. I am 22 years old and am currently trying to pay off student loans while simultaneously paying for my insurance, gas, etc. I have a full time job that pays decent in my area (El Paso, TX) and also have forged relationships with successful business and real estate company owners around town, which I have been soaking up as much information I can from, akin to a sponge. Is there anything else you guys would recommend? I understand and respect how a lot of BP members have started in the same position as I have and wish to acquire as much information I can. I appreciate you folks for your time.

Regards, 

Erik Andersen 

[Vincent Chan]

Hey Erik! Great idea on getting a real estate license to get direct access to MLS. I'm in a similar situation where I just started learning about this stuff. I personally collected a list of really helpful books that I'm reading over the next few weeks before I actively look at properties. Hope this is helpful:

- The Millionaire Next Door

- The book on Rental Property Investing

- The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No Money Down

- Long-Distance Real Estate Investing

- The Millionaire Real Estate Investor

- What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cashflow

- How I Turned $1,000 into a Million in Real Estate in My Spare Time

- Rich Dad Poor Dad

- The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs