I am interested in real estate but don't know where to start

[Benjamin I Singer]

Hello everyone this is my first blog post for bigger pockets! I found out about this forum from the bigger pockets podcast and that has sparked a real interest. I will start with sharing a little bit about my current situation and i would absolutely love all the advice i can get on what my options are moving forward in this endeavor. i currently work in residential construction primarily ground up projects so i have a decent amount of knowledge on houses themselves. I live in Napa CA and i am 21 years old, the problem about being 21 is that i don't have very much capital built up to start doing much with. I have not posted in a blog before im not sure exactly what information i should say to help people understand what i want. my goal for what i would like to do with real estate is to be able to purchase a home and start living in it so that i don't have too keep paying rent. if anyone knows anything about napa valley it is definitely not cheap to live here and i hate just paying all that money to someone else and making their pockets full when i could be investing that into a home and filling my pockets up. i was thinking that if i could buy a cheap home maybe a foreclosed home or something that needs repairs and be able to just fix it myself and rent out rooms. i don't have to much money to start off with im not sure how much i need or even where to start with figuring out a budget. eventually i would very much like to be able to rent out multiple homes and have a home for myself that i can pay for with all the rental properties i have. please let me know if you have any questions i hope everyone can understand what i am trying to do and how to move forward with this.

[Bill B.]

I started a little earlier than 21. When I left my parents house I had never paid rent and didn’t like the idea. So I found 3 friends that also needed a place to live. I divided the mortgage by 1/3rd and charge each of them that to live with me. Eventually I turned that property in to a rental and bought a new place and repeat. This of course works best when you’re young. One I moved to Vegas with my wife (and hopefully after you house hacked (as the kids like to call it) once or twice) you can start buying a new primary home every year with 3-5% down and then ent it otu and move to your new primary.