New investor trying to find the right path...

[Jeremy Carl]

I'm in need of a little help in figuring out the right path to take. I've studied real estate since I was 13 (11 years ago) and I've always wanted to be a landlord. (Or have a management company that I own do it for me preferably). I'm actively licensed in Florida as an agent but I don't have my license hung with a broker. I'm going back to school to finish my bachelor's degree at the moment. As of right now, I barely have any money, my credit is teetering on a 600, and I just recently got a good job as a server at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at Universal City Walk in Orlando, FL. My tax return for this year though won't show much because of just getting the job, and having awful jobs before it that I barely claimed anything at.  

I've listened to the first 20 BP podcasts and taken all of it in. They are right, starting out in investing is definitely NOT easy. I attended my first REIA meeting last night in Orlando and it got to me a little bit. There are investors out there that have been doing this for 1, 2, 5, 10, and even more years. When a good deal comes along, how am I supposed to compete with someone who has cash in hand and who can close without even seeing the property?

The advice that I would like to have is about my idea on where I should go with real estate. I've already spoken to my lender and he says that he can get me a loan right now with where I stand. I just need to show him a proof of income which I could show in January and buy something after that. (Probably for less than 60K because if I did my math correctly, that's about all I could afford)

My question is this...do I wait until I have more income and better credit to buy a multi-family property that I can live in 1 unit and rent out the other 3 or 4 (MF's are where I want to end up in the future), or do I buy an awful SF home in a depressed area for 15K or 20K, put a few bucks into it, and hope that I can turn a profit? 

Start small, and try to make small profits until I can afford bigger and better properties...or wait until I can afford bigger and better properties from the get go? Any advice would be awesome.   

[Dave Bingham]

@Jeremy Carl 

Hey Jeremy! When you're young and thinking about how to compete and seeing how everyone has so much money and such a large network it sometimes is easy to become hopeless in a new endeavor. There are a few things to think about. First at some point everyone one of these people that are real estate demi-gods were completely ignorant and knew no one. The second is a quote from Steve Jobs as follows:

“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again”

If you don't mind dealing with crazy people and crazy problems I'd say grab a fourplex and rent the other three out. You'll most likely cover your mortgage and keep extra. Check out BP's Ultimate beginners guide to RE investing.

Good luck friend!