New member from Northern CO

[Kevin Paynter]

Hello all, 

My name is Kevin and I am beginning to learn more about real estate investing. Currently my wife and I are located about an hour north of Denver CO, where relocated to in order to be closer to family.

I first heard of real estate investing from a coworker in late 2019, and it sounded like a fantastic way to replace my current income and take control of my time. Unfortunately, at the time, my wife were huge into Dave Ramsey, so when we heard the word "debt", we automatically dismissed investing in real estate as an option for us. I'm not knocking Dave's material, we still employ all of his tips for budgeting and coming together on financial decisions, but I wish I would have started the learning process back then.

Now at 37yr old, working a job that is enjoyable, but a time sink, I am ready to get going on RE. I recently purchased the book 'How to invest in real estate' and have gotten through the chapter of "getting my ducks in a row". That's why I'm posting this, because instead of reading further, I wanted to take some (small) action step and introduce myself to the community.

Im looking forward to contributing where I can, and learning a whole lot from this forum. My goal is to replace our income within 5 years through investing. I'm still not sure which type of investment would be best yet, as I am still in the early stages of learning. Open to any tips from those who have made the first step, and what you would do differently. 

[Kayla Givens]

Hey, Kevin!

Welcome to the wild world of real estate investing. I was a big Dave Ramsey believer for a long time and I agree with you that a lot of what he preaches is very helpful but where it feels misguided is when it comes to debt. Rich Dad Poor Dad was a game-changer for me - it shattered my understanding of how to grow my wealth and career and forced me to think bigger.

Do you own a home now? If not, one of the more simple strategies to get into real estate investing is house hacking. If you're not familiar, basically you purchase a single-family or multifamily (2-4 units) home, live in one room/unit, and rent the others out while, hopefully, living rent-free.

What investing strategy is the most attractive to you so far?