@Trevor Klaus I think it's awesome that you are 21 and are already getting prepared to buy your first property. If I am being honest, I don't think I'll ever feel truly "ready" to dive in. There are so many unknowns, but like many on the podcast say, your first deal is not going to make you rich or change your life in and of itself. With this in mind, my investment goals for 2019 are to purchase three multi-family properties (even though I don't feel 100% confident) and to learn as much as a I can throughout the process. I think I have gained enough knowledge through listening to the podcasts, pouring over the forums, and reading real estate books to where I now want to focus on experiential learning. I want to buy and rent out an investment property, get it professionally managed, have it cash-flow upwards of $3,500 annually, and learn as much as possible throughout the process. And then do this again, and again before 2019 is over.
Here's what I have done during my "research" phase:
1. Listen to the BP podcast. While making breakfast, driving to work, working out, cooking dinner, etc. I have become obsessed with the idea of educating myself and feel like an unproductive slouch if I'm not engaging with material while doing relatively mundane tasks.
2. Read the forums with intention. Use the search function to find posts related to your target market. Find other BP members that are in your target area and creep through their posts. Reach out to them. Search using numbers and cash-flow estimates. Do exactly what you did when you reached out to me, which is find other people that are doing exactly what you want to do and learn from them.
3. Read good books. There are a slew of them. I don't really think you can go wrong.
4. Analyze deals. I am a pro member specifically because of the calculators. There are other perks, but for me, it is really about the calculators. Even though I was not ready to purchase, I consistently searched the MLS and craigslist for properties in my identified markets. Figure out what a deal looks like before you are ready to buy and when you are finally ready to take the plunge, you'll at least know what to look for.
5. Once I knew that purchasing an investment property was not an "if" but a "when" I began researching and reaching out to different property management companies. I wanted the gift of time to make a good decision regarding management instead of buying and then feeling the need to just "go with someone."
6. I have not done this one yet, but I need to find and befriend a successful and motivated investor friendly agent. I don't like wasting people's time, which is why I have waited until now to do this. I have bought and sold multiple primary residences since graduating from college and this is an altogether different beast.
I'm not sure I have provided you with anything you wouldn't have done already on your own, but I hope there might be something here that can help. Feel free to reach out with any other questions. Best of luck moving forward!
Mac
