Need help on my next steps as a real estate investor

[John Hewitt]

The title of this post may be a bit misleading. I am not actually a real estate investor at the moment, but I aspire to be one soon. I’m in college and don’t the have time or money to buy a property, but I want to educate myself and practice the necessary skills.

I have been taking courses online and reading books about REI and I am looking for some advice on what I should be doing. Any books you recommend? Should I pick properties and practice putting together a pro forma? Anything that will educate me and train my skills?

I’m pretty passionate about this and I know it’s what I want to do. Thank you for your advice.

[Matt Leber]

@John Hewitt yes, you should pick properties and run the numbers on them now *as if* you were ready to buy.

Think about what kinds of properties you want to invest in. Set some criteria. Pick a market. Run the numbers on couple of properties each week. This shouldn’t be too much of a time commitment and will get you more comfortable with your market(s) of choice. It will allow you to see what types of properties work for you and what neighborhoods within your market are better performing than others. Once you get to know your market over time through practice, you’ll be ready to jump right in when the right time comes.