I got my feet wet on the forums here a few years back, but realized I had some big hurdles to overcome (i.e. get my financial house in order) before I could "get started".

My wife and I both have high level education and, have the time and desire to work at the industry.

I have educated my self enough to get into my first deal.

Now as we have learned more, and have been educating ourselves more, we understand that having a fantastic and rock solid lease behind you is crucial as a landlord, but what we have now just does not cut it.

Kind of hard learning things in a area where no one teaches, genuinely helps or let along want to give advice on financial freedom so i thank BIGGERPOCKETS for being my second home and this is my biggerpockets family.

And also offered was the opportunity to meet his established network to further my understanding and to accelerate the investment property buying process.It is one small step in the journey towards achieving goals and financial freedom and it is one that I highly recommend to other newbies.

New here on the forums and just getting started educating myself on how I'm going to build my own real estate empire.

Educated yourself on the pros and cons of that before proceeding in one direction.Here is a diagram to help with these questions a bit:

Make your plan, map it out, understand the financial impact that some vacancy, turnover and unit refurb costs will have on your cashflow and decide the pace that's right for you.With a staged plan to raise rents slowly or force some turnover by not renewing existing leases, I'm sure you can get the rents up to market within six months to a year.Good luck!

The banker I have worked with has required me to provide a personal financial statement, copies of past US tax returns, work contract showing my present income and other documentation (foreign mortgage) to show my monthly cashflow.Hope this helps.