All Forum Posts by: Andrew Fredrickson

Hi @Daniel D. !

Reading your post, I absolutely relate! I am in a very similar situation. We got our first rental property last year and are looking for our second in DuPage County as well. Unfortunately, the market around us still seems pretty hot at the moment. 

Best of luck though!

-Andrew

Hi @Thomas Clark

Speaking from the perspective of a current National Guard member. I certainly would think long and hard before joining the military. The guard/reserves offer a lot of benefits (including the VA loan after 6 years or deployment), but they do come at a price. Many people join for many different reasons, but I personally don't believe joining primarily for the VA loan is worth it. If you also have other reasons to join, that is a different matter.

If I were in your shoes, I would delay worrying about buying a rental property and focus first on getting rid of bad debt. I would start with the following:

• Dave Ramsey: https://www.daveramsey.com/baby-steps/?gclid=CjwKC...
• Debt snowball/stacking: https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/get-out-of-debt...

Also, almost just as good and a VA loan is an FHA loan https://www.zillow.com/mortgage-learning/fha-loan/. You can get a loan with as little as 3.5% down and a 580 credit score.

Again to reiterate, I would not recommend joining the military just for the benefit of the VA loan.

Best,

-Andrew

@Alexander Gonzalez welcome to BP! Congrats on everything you have achieved so far! And it sounds like you're just getting started! If you're looking to make connections, I would highly recommend continuing to engage here on the forums. If you're interested in pursuing Real Estate as an investment I would also recommend the following:

• Read Brandon Turner's book in rental property investing: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Rental-Property-Investing-Passive-ebook/dp/B018UTI2DO - This will walk you through buying a property start to finish.
• Continue to listen to the BP podcasts on real estate https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcast and money https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow
• Start analyzing deals to get practice
• Engage more on the BP forums

All the best!

-Andrew

@Sebastian Arizala welcome to BP! 

Brandon Turner's book and listening to the podcast are the two first things I would recommend as well - you are right on track! In addition, I would recommend:

• Listening to the BP money podcast https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow
• Attend your local REIA meetings to network
• Start analyzing deals to get practice
• Engage more on the BP forums

All the best!

-Andrew

@Seneca Shelton welcome to BP! You've certainly come to the right place.

Best of luck!

-Andrew

@Marc L. welcome to BP! 

To get started I would recommend: 

• Read Brandon Turner's book in rental property investing: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Rental-Property-Investing-Passive-ebook/dp/B018UTI2DO - This will walk you through buying a property start to finish. 
• Listen to the BP podcasts on real estate https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcast and money https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow
• Start analyzing deals to get practice
• Engage more on the BP forums

All the best!

-Andrew

@Jay Santos welcome to BP! Also, good job on finding a mentor! Having a mentor is a great way to jumpstart your learning. 

The first book I would recommend is Brandon Turner's book on rental investing: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Rental-Property-Investing-Passive-ebook/dp/B018UTI2DO. Although most of this information can be found online here or there, having it all organized into one place for easy reference is very useful!

I would also highly recommend the BP Real Estate podcast: https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcast

You might also enjoy the BP money podcast: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow

All the best,

Andrew

@Kenneth E. welcome to BP! Also, thank you for your service! 

If you haven't already, check out the BP podcasts: REI https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcast and Money https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow. I love listening to these during my commute. 

Best of luck,

Andrew

Haha yes! Covering the pictures with graphics is definitely the way to go! jk lol

@Lamar Witcher

I think the most common mistake I've seen new investors make is to assume their positive cash flow = (monthly rent) - (mortgage payment). 

When you're just starting out with REI, people don't always realize how much money they should be setting aside for

• maintenance
• capex
• property management 
• vacancy 
• etc. 

That's probably the biggest thing I've seen. 

Best,

Andrew