All Forum Posts by: Robert Gibbs

Welcome to the real estate investing community, Robert! It's great to hear that you are passionate about real estate and are looking to invest in small multifamily properties. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

1. Educate yourself. There is a lot to learn when it comes to real estate investing, so be sure to do your due diligence. Read books, listen to podcasts, and join online communities like this one to learn from others.
2. Create a plan. Before you start looking for properties, it's important to have a clear idea of what you're looking for and how you plan to achieve your goals. Consider factors like your budget, the type of property you want to invest in, and your long-term investment strategy.
3. Network and build relationships. Real estate investing can be a social business, so it's important to build relationships with other investors, real estate agents, and other professionals in the industry. Attend local meetups, join online groups, and reach out to others in the community to learn and network.
4. Find a mentor. Working with a mentor can be a great way to gain valuable knowledge and experience. Look for someone who has experience in the type of investing you're interested in and is willing to share their insights and guidance.
5. Take action. Don't be afraid to get out there and start investing. The only way to gain experience is by doing, so start looking for properties, make offers, and learn from your successes and failures.

I hope these tips are helpful as you embark on your real estate investing journey. Good luck!

Hello Robert, I am so glad that you are looking to get out of what sounds like a draining job through real estate. I will say that learning to invest for the first time, out of state, while working 7-7, with a baby sounds like a really difficult task. Have you considered the option of partnering with someone or investing in a syndication to leverage all of the benefits of real estate without having to take on all of the work yourself? This might be a more sustainable option for you until you can quit your full time job. If you want to discuss the different ways that can work feel free to send me a private message. I am looking for a partner on a deal right now where the partner should get 20-30% ROI and I have a friend that is capital raising for a multifamily syndication who I would be glad to refer you to if that makes more sense for your goals. I hope you can find the best path for your family, I am getting married in may and am trying to forge a better path for my future family as well!

@Robert Gibbs welcome, and good luck on your investing journey.

My two cents:  a house hack (which can be a single fam or small multifam property) is the best way to start off--and is a far better strategy for a beginner than an OOS property.

A good house hack will simultaneously lower your living expenses while increasing your income (the fundamental recipe for building wealth), it will teach you many of the essential skills you'll need to succeed in REI (like due diligence, tenant screening, property management, etc.), and--importantly--it's MUCH simpler and easier than other strategies like OOS investing (which tends to have a lot more risk and a much steeper learning curve).  

Unfortunately, we regularly see beginner investors on the forums with nightmare scenario properties (non-paying tenants, crime, property destruction, and MIA PMs), and their story is almost always the same: it was their first property, and they bought OOS because the cashflow was great (on paper), and "it looked great in the photos", but the property was a lipsticked pig rehab in a C or D neighborhood, and they learned the hard way that PMs have no incentive to put in the significant effort required to manage in a C or D area for the minimal revenue such a property produces....that's a lesson I'm glad I haven't had to learn through experience!

Fortunately, there are simpler, easier REI strategies (like house hacking) that have lower risk profiles.

Good luck out there!

Welcome! Out of state investing rocks. I've been doing it for a few years. Any markets you're looking at?