People keep telling me not get into real estate

[Maria Moya]

Hello everyone, anyone I have spoke to about REI in my personal life all tell me the same thing: don't get into real estate

They are all people who have had properties themselves, have tried to rent them out and have told me horror stories of tenants and how repair costs or costs to property managers make it disadvantageous to earn profit or scale

I’m trying to invest with my spouse who is also included in these conversations. My spouse was already wary of investing into Real estate, but after hearing these conversations from family and friends, I can tell their concerns expand

that said, I would love to know how people on here got started with their spouse. How did they know the property they would invest in would cash flow and/or build equity over the long run? I was thinking about investing in Orlando or Tampa, but I actually don’t know if either markets are actually advantageous. I grew up in Orlando which is why I wanted to start there because I know the good vs bad areas but hearing no one in my circle make money from a rental property makes me concern. But I’m not sure if Orlando is a “good” market. I’d love to learn about other people have done that were actually successful and what made them successful 

[Nicholas L.]

@Maria Moya

there's a lot in your post... 

let's completely forget about "getting into real estate" for a second, and try something different.  i believe that you mentioned in another post that you don't already own a primary residence. is that accurate?  here are some questions for you:

are you saving up for a down payment, on either a primary or a rental?

do you have savings and an emergency fund?  

are either you or your spouse in a job that has a 401K with a match, and if so, are you maxing it out?

do you both have good credit scores?  any consumer debt, student loans?

i firmly believe that you should be a strong financial position before you invest.  rental properties can be expensive.  what if you buy something, and the HVAC goes in month 1, and there's a storm that damages the roof in month 6?  what if insurance doesn't cover the roof?

i think the concerns of the people around you tend to be valid - and so your job isn't to 'convince' them, it's to come at investing (or whatever) from a place of financial strength.

my first rental was my former primary residence - i kept it as a rental when i moved out of it.  it doesn't cash flow a penny.  but it's in an A-class area and so i'm keeping it.

hope this helps.  happy to dialogue further