Definitely do not need to get your license. Certainly not bad to have but not necessary in my opinion. You can learn what you need to on your own, by talking to people, or from good real estate agents directly. If you desire to get it by all means go for it - knowledge is power - but thats knowledge you pay for that may or may not pay off for you. Your disposition may be to move forward with that as i believe i read in your introduction - but not needed to understand and develop some degree of comfortability. FIrst one always going to make you a little nervous - still does for me as well.
You need to define a goal, a budget, and learn the math. Ive also found that it is easy to go crazy by looking at everything. In 2016 the pittsburgh market is getting too darn expensive in the hot areas (especially east end). I would encourage you to break it down into.
1) single or multi family
2) Buy and hold vs flip --I would definitely buy and hold if you have limited knowledge when it comes to property repairs (you can always flip later). Learn on something thats paying you to own it.
3). Set a budget as aforementioned
4) decide what areas you are going to be able to buy in based on the budget.
5) analyze those properties and neighborhoods. Learn the neighborhoods and LEARN THE MATH like the back of your hand. Its simple arithrimetic but often there is an angle and no prop is the same.
6) good beginner rule I use for myself is that for a buy and hold multi - if it needs more than 10k of work its probably not a great FIRST investment.
This of course depends on your starting bank roll - but if its like mine (under 100k) - Im trying to put as little as possible into it on top of initial equity and fees.
this will likely chew a big hole in your ROI (now if you are looking to improve value with a cash out refi or a great prospect comes along that needs combo new plumbing, roof, windows, foundation repair, etc - well just make sure you know what youre getting into and/or have a good contractor and finger on the pulse of the market when estimating the ARV YOURSELF - couple missed items and you risk having a bad first investment and not doing it again).
7) dont be scared be ambitious ( i should heed my own advice sometimes)
8) define numbers goals within your target areas. Take a look at what the average returns appear to be and set a goal for cash on cash at least. The one percent and 2 percent rule ive never looked at ... cap rate is .. meh .. its there - what im most concerned with is the price of the home relative to comparables and cash on cash to start.
9) I look the other way if it is a multi unit that is not separately metered - thats always one of my criteria here in pgh as there are a lot of older homes and a good portion you wind up worrying about who will cover utilities. Margins are already tight enough let alone taking on a triplex gas bill. There are exceptions - some properties are set up such that installing a few electric baseboard heaters might be possible to save on the gas bill - but i would still just shy away if not metered separately at the outset.
10) do shop for a lender and compare (usually pretty standard but there can be some fluctuation) - dont fall for the ones that sound too good to be true - there are gimmicks out there - big bank or reputable broker should do you fine. Compare origination fee and rate mostly. Most other costs are relatively standard I believe.
11) buy at market rates - dont splurge in a market because numbers look good - we are more than likely going to see balking in prices - if not a little recession in the next few years - would suck to own something you couldnt sell becuase you bought the most expensive property at the top - goes back to being mindful of your market. In this realm you might be overpaying for section 8 housing based on returns as a good example - so just be mindful of prices and comps once you identify target areas.
ANyway that is my beginners guide written by a beginner but is basically what i look for. It is just the way i have started to think about a first investment having looked for a while now. Start small and start simple - hit a good solid single that pays you every month - I will aim for bigger returns through flipping or refinancing once i have a steady stream of cash to help offset the risk those things bring. This is by far profound and i knew this at the outset of my journey - but its easy to get distracted along the way. So this is what im trying to stick to as of now.
