New to Real Estate Investing Austin Texas

[Josh Miller]

I've recently stumbled across Real Estate investing and think it is a viable option for the financial freedom and possibly a great career that would fit my life. I am in the Austin Texas area and would like to start out with a buy and hold with a single family home or a small multi family. Creating long term wealth is something I have wanted to do since the day I started working but wasn't sure on how to go about it and I am hoping I have found an answer with Real Estate. If anyone has any advice for someone just starting out that would be great!

[Katie Greenman]

Get connected with people! Meet people through BP. Start looking for an agent in the area that you can pick their brain. Ask them about the market and what to expect when putting offers on homes in a sellers market with low inventory. Use this info to make goals. Plan with the agent. Be-friend the agent. If you can not be-friend them I would walk away. If you do find people that you hit it off of with stay in touch with them (especially if they are intersted in RE)! Talk with property managers in the area. Analyze your financial standing. Ask realtors for lender referrals. How are you going to get the deal? Cash, financing, hard money, partners? Read about LLC'S and other business structures (you could start here, (https://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/businessstructure.shtml).  Try to make lawyer friends and accounting friends, haha.  Make small goals and hold yourself accountable.  Get organized.  Think about your strengths and weaknesses.  Document everything.  Think about why you want to get into RE investing.  I read something that went a long the lines of once you have an answer to that initial question, ask 5 more whys.  EX: I want to get into RE investing so I can have financial freedom. 

1)Why do I want financial freedom?- So I can have more opportunities to enjoy the things I like.

2)Why do i want to have more opportunities to enjoy the things I like?  So I feel like my time is working towards something that motivates me beyond financial security.

3) Why do I want to feel like my time is working towards something that motivates me beyond financial security?  I want to utilize my potential to push myself and get creative.

ETC... Read books about real estate, marketing, landscaping, finance, whatever you like to read; read! Get up earlier.  Try to get to sleep earlier.  Drive around Austin see what attracts you to homes and what is a turn off.  Location?  Landscaping you like?  

Think about/read/research risk management. Come up with a list of questions you have about real estate and carry it with you or have them on your phone.  Who knows who you will meet and when!  Think about issue you will come across with renting, what kind of creative ideas can you come up with to prevent/minimize the damage/work in a pro-active manner to prevent these issues.  On the flip slide, they will happen so what will be your plan of action for handling issues.  Find out what these issues are.  What are common, what are not so common, what are BIG stresses, what are small stresses?  Are you wiling to do a flip?  What are questions you have about flips? 

Lots of things, but really try making connections with people.  Find people you can grow with.  Find people who use a different lens then you, or whose strengths are your weakness. Set a time for you guy to get together and catch up once a month or something.