All Forum Posts by: Eric Bate

Thanks guys!  I've already checked out the reading list, but I'm a little unsure about some of the books mentioned.  When I went on Amazon for Landlording on Auto-pilot, for example, almost all of the top-rated reviews were negative for false advertising ("free forms" that you have to pay for).  Yet most of the blog comments on here were strongly in favor.

So far I've read Rich Dad Poor Dad, the Richest Man in Babylon, and some financial books by Brian Tracy and others.  But nothing yet that's real estate specific.  Is there any specific order somebody could recommend for books to read?  I've got a good 5 months to educate myself and mount my search before the lease is up on my apartment.

Chris, thanks for your suggestion about interviewing a handyman.  It would probably be pretty useful to talk to one beforehand, and maybe even take them along to look at properties, paying them for their time but with the understanding that they would be my go-to guy for repairs.  I'll start looking around Yelp to see if I can find somebody.

Eric

I'm a 30-year-old violinist in Minneapolis, MN.  I've never owned real estate, and I've got some money squirreled away with which to get into the game.  Ideally, I'd like to own several rental properties that bring in a steady flow of income.  But that would be years down the line, I believe.  At the moment, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about real estate before buying my first property, likely a duplex that I'll live in and rent out at the same time.  At least, that's the plan.

I'm still quite green behind the ears, but I've got some time to learn as much as I can before making my first purchase.  My lease is up at the end of August, and I'd like to have a place of my own by then so that I don't have to pay rent ($1000/mo) ever again.

I came across Bigger Pockets several times while Googling for book suggestions on real estate.  I'm happy to have found such an active forum full of so many people on the same path as me.

~Eric