Successful Career YES...Successful Investor, Not So Much!!

[Renae Pinkney]

(Apologies for the slightly long post)

Hello Everyone, 

I've been on BiggerPockets for over a year on and off and have found it to be a great resource. I find myself getting stuck in that "analysis paralysis" stage often until eventually I get overwhelmed and lose interest..only to find myself right back! I cant necessarily say that it is a "passion" because I haven't done anything but there is something that constantly nags at me about real estate in its ability to provide financial freedom and living life on my own terms which is my goal. I've recently read some blog posts and listened to some podcasts and had some questions/ideas and wanted to get some feedback from successful investors.

Yesterdays podcast talked about being a Introvert in the industry/ as a landlord, this piqued my interest because Iam 100% an Introvert and talking to customers  is such a daunting task for me sometime. If you consider yourself an Introvert what has your experience been and how do you use this as an advantage? Is using a property manager a great way to avoid constant communication? 

In a blog post I read if you dont have any reserves to invest in SFH with the buy and hold strategy you should avoid this and perhaps begin with wholesaling or some other real estate job..thoughts?

What kind of leverage could be used if I wanted to purchase my own home and a rental property in the same year? (Besides house hacking)  Would you recommend doing this or is it too much hassle? 

Any ideas/insights welcomed. Just looking for some ideas to get started. 

[Linda S.]

@Renae Pinkney,

You gotta know your strengths, and weaknesses.. that being said... I consider myself an introvert,  and I'm a horrible sales person.. so we often have one of our workers, a gregarious college student to do a lot of the showings, and then we take it from there.    

You can hire a PM, but honestly-- your tenants won't want to talk to you, this isn't social hour, you won't be friends...   they will want you to fix stuff when it needs to be done, and that's pretty much it!    Be quick to fix stuff, and let them know if you ever need access.   You can do the bulk of it through email or text,  but as long as you are professional, short and sweet works just fine!