However, when seeking a non-recourse lender, I suggest starting by reaching out to lenders who specialize in working with self-directed IRAs, as they’re more likely to understand the requirements.

Starting real estate investing early is a smart move, especially while leveraging your military benefits.

You could start by checking out Upwork or Fiverr—those platforms are great for beginners because you can create a profile and bid on jobs.

Start with the county, zoning, planning commissions etc.

BiggerPockets and Facebook groups can also be great for networking.Feel free to reach out if you’d like help connecting with agents or investors in Illinois or Wisconsin (Have some amazing referral partners)—I’d be happy to lend a hand or share resources to get you started.

Start by getting pre-approved with a VA/FHA lender and targeting a multi-family property where rental income covers most of your mortgage.Good luck!

@Albert Gallucci as many have pointed out, in the commercial space of 100+ apartment buildings and offices, property classes have some pretty decent industry standards.We started applying these to 1-4 unit properties around 10 years ago, which you can verify on our blogs, because we saw too many newbie investors not properly taking into account things like, neighborhood status, tenant pool, property condition, etc.Unfortunately, there's no industry standard for this, but you can use some basic logic to think your way through your own Classifications.

But would recommend you start with Long Term Rentals first.

I am starting out and planning to make my first RE investment in the Q1 2025.

It’s great to see someone embracing real estate after an accidental start.