Help newbee lost in the wilderness of Real estate investing.

[Shema Turner]

Hi guys,

My husaband and I are thinking about investing in either multi family units or single family home, for long term gain. We are planning on being landlords.

[/b]As newbees to real estate:

1.Can someone point us in the direction of where we should be researching.

2. Also how can we evaluate a property to see whether its a good or bad deal? (The numbers are my weak points, I think once I figure out the numbers everything will make sense to me)

3. What Should we be looking for before buying a property?

4. What are the best areas to invest in now?

I appreciate any assitance given.

Thanks
Shema Turner

[Thomas Williamson]

One thing to think about when your first starting out as my wife and I did several years ago, is think about what happens if the property is vacant. Buying your first rental can be pretty scary, but you can relax knowing that if the property is vacant for a month (or two) you guys can easily afford the mortgage. I worked the numbers and chose the first properties based on the price point we could afford to pay if needed. That's how we started, and it helps sleeping at night. That was ten houses and 2.5 years ago. Over leverage will kill your real estate career from the begining if you're not careful. Good luck, by the way, my wife just retired from her job at age 41 because of our passive income, I love real estate investing!