If you were to ask any RE investor they'd probably tell you they wish they'd started sooner, considering you're only 18 puts you way ahead of the game.

I want to say it only took 5 business days, but to be fair, we also didn't have all our bank statements and paystubs prepared, so make sure you have that information ahead of time.

Especially in a crazy market like we're experiencing now.So, I've broken down, at a high level, the 12 steps to follow if you really want to get straight to your first/next deal.WARNING: This list is for action takers only!

The things we put the most thought into were;1) How to arrive at a 'buy out price' ahead of time, meaning not to come up with it at the point someone wants out.

My name is Wendell, I am 26 years old and I am brand new to BiggerPockets, already love all the support and information in the community.I just wanted to layout where I am at in my investment journey as well as my initial game plan for really jumping straight into real estate investing.

I might just go ahead and apply for the grant and just give it back when I purchase another property for house hacking? 

That's a straight up direct quote that he said to me with a straight face.I'm a real estate attorney with a broker's license.I have tried everything, and am out of ideas. 

Also, for many of the gigs that have the highest earning potential, you will likely be on straight commission (or commission with a very small base).

That would include the decision to go ahead and replace windows and sliders in 4 of the units which I would want to show in the capital expenditures for the year.

The more I reflect back on it and knowing that he's a type A go-getter, I think when I said we were interested in investing he went ahead and just threw us in that bucket.As far as not closing any deals with him, we had only secured him as our agent because we were looking for a rental property for ourselves.