Best 3 suggestions to new investor to get started?

[Nick Jenkins]

What would suggest to someone new their first 3 steps should be to get into their first deal?

[Robert Leonard]

1. BE PATIENT.  Avoid the urge (or suggestion) to jump in and learn as you go.  Jump into learning and listen to every podcast.  Any time something comes up that you don't understand, make a note of it and look it up.  Search for it here or other places on the internet.  Avoid the urge to jump in and learn when there's money on the table, that can be an expensive way to learn.

2.  READ.  Read good foundational books.  My first recommendation is "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller.  There are a few recommended reading lists you can find if you use the search in the upper right hand of this page.

3. NETWORK. Get to know other investors in your market. You can find them here on BP (Go to "NETWORK" then "FIND MEMBERS") or at your local REIA(s). A lot of novices show up once or twice at REIA meetings and disappear. Be persistent, stay engaged and you can get to know investors who you can call or talk to before you make that first investment to get their opinion on what your looking at. Do that here on BP if you don't have anyone locally. The sooner you develop those local connections, the sooner you can get started. You can accelerate the process if you find someone locally to partner with or who will allow you to learn from them if you bring them something they can make work.

There's a lot more, but those three things will get you going in the right direction!