New Investor living in Philadelphia

[Lisa Jackson]

I am a 58 year old retired teacher looking to invest in rentals to supplement my income and pay off current mortgage.  I feel like I am making this harder than it has to be. What is a good first step?  Thanks for your suggestions in advance.  

[David Haynes]

Real estate investment is a long-term approach to financial freedom. The first step would be to build up enough cash for a sizable downpayment on your first rental property. You would also want to choose your strategy. BiggerPockets can teach you a lot about the different strategies that you can take. It sounds like you would like the BRRRR strategy. It's a risky but rewarding approach involving finding a distressed property, renovating, renting out, and refinancing at a more acceptable interest rate once the bank appraises your property at an acceptable value. Scaling this approach takes a lot of thought and planning.

I'm in Philadelphia, investing in real estate myself. If I can be of any help, just let me know. I and my partners are pretty dang good at finding the best properties for this strategy.

But yes, the first step is to build up that cash. Cash is king!