All Forum Posts by: Evan Alexakos

@Evan Alexakos  I'd suggest first figuring out what your goals are, and what type of RE investment strategy matches those goals.  THEN, you'll have a much better idea of what books/resources to focus on.

For instance, if you decide you want to house hack (which, I'm a big proponent of--especially for beginners), then focus on books/podcasts/articles/resources covering house hacking... There's not much point in reading an entire book on flipping if you don't plan to flip a house... etc., etc.

Also--keep in mind that you can read a thousand books on how to swim (and, by all means--you definitely should study up before getting in the pool), but at the end of the day, the only way to learn to swim is to get in the pool!

Good luck out there!

@Evan Alexakos I am going to throw one or two into the ring that are not from the BP bros.... 

Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes and Quads- Larry Loftis

-This book is a little too focused on appreciation, but I love his overall take on how simple investing really is for the most part. Most people do really well just buying a building and trading up, selling, holding, and this book has some good stuff. 

Whate Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cashflow- Frank Gallinelli

-I like that this book goes through 36 ways to measure returns.

-BP has always been way too focused on cash on cash, which ends up being meaningless in a lot of cases since year one COC is often zero...

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. There is a handy search bar in the upper right that makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, it will be much easier to recognize a good deal when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

5. Study the market. You can learn to do this on your own or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR that works with investors and knows how to best help you.

6. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you just need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a pretty forgiving world and the average person can still make money even with some pretty big mistakes.

• I read these and they are very good. 
• The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
• The Book on Managing Rental Properties by Brandon Turner

@Evan Alexakos

• The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
• The Book on Managing Rental Properties by Brandon Turner
• The Book on Investing in Real Estate with Low (and No) Money Down by Brandon Turner
• Set For Life by Scott Trench
• The House Hacking Strategy by Craig Curelop
• The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Jay Papasan and Gary Keller
• Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki
• Retire Young Retire Rich by Robert Kiyosaki

BRRRR by David Greene

Also, I second Brennen Thompson's recommendations.

Spend a few months reading the books and listening to podcasts. But jump in...the water's fine! ;)  Seriously, find something that interests you (i.e., wholesaling, buy-and-hold single-families, etc.), set a goal (i.e., buy a fix-and-hold), and take action. The last part is where the real learning takes place.  The other parts help to mitigate the risk though.  Good luck on your journey!

Hey dude! 

In sequential order, I'd go with: 

The Richest Man in Babylon - teaches you some solid money skills

How to Invest in Real Estate With Little to No Money Down - opens your brain to the power of real estate

The House Hacking Strategy - provides a solid game plan for purchasing your first property (it's like buying on training wheels!)

All that being said, you can't beat some solid action! Keep at it and feel free to reach out to me if you ever have any questions! I'm always more than happy to help! 

@Paul De Luca send me all your deals with serious bug infestations lol. I can add them to the collection. 

@Evan Alexakos I like purpose-built rentals, so I steer clear of weird conversion type buildings where the building used to be one use but was converted. In the small multifamily where I focus as a broker this normally means old houses that were converted to duplexes. In the large commercial apartment buildings, I focus on buying, this normally means mixed use conversion deals with odd layouts.