How To Know When You Are Ready To Get In The Real Estate Game

PREPARATION IS KEY

While in school, have you ever showed up to an exam unprepared?   Maybe the teacher presented you with a pop quiz or maybe you just forgot it was exam day.  How did you feel... nervous?   

Preparation is important in anything we do in life.  The more prepared you are for any situation, the more confidence you will have when that situation presents itself.  The same is true when it comes to buying your first real estate investment.  

If you are like me and began your real estate education reading books, my best recommendation is to keep reading until you no longer feel like you are learning anything new from each additional book.  Same with podcasts.  Keep listening until they just start sounding repetitive.   When you reach this point, you know you've maxed out what you are going to learn and the next step is experience.  

EXPERIENCE

Once you've learned all you are going to from the books, podcasts and youtube, its time to take what you've learned and jump into your first deal.  Unlike some gurus out there, I wouldn't recommend a big deal, just something small to get your feet wet.  It should, however, still be a GOOD deal.  

Take what you've learned from your studies and find and analyze as many deals as you can.  Look for those off market or distressed properties with motivated sellers.  Put offers in low enough that you know you have a very comfortable margin built in, so if something goes wrong you still come out of the deal with a profit.  And when the seller's counter, stick to your gut, don't change the numbers to make the deal work, and find the right one.   The first one will always be scary, and after your close there will still be a lot to learn.  But after the first one closes, trust me, you will have the confidence to do another and it will be so much easier.   You will eventually get the point where you've seen so many deals and ran so many numbers, you can start submitting offers site unseen and have no problem doing it. 

Good luck and Happy Analyzing.