Three questions:-- biggest lesson learned in your first year as a landlord-- skill that was most difficult for you to learn -- which phase is hardest for you:  finding properties, screening / managing tenants, working with contractors, working out the financials, other???  

Just getting my feet under me here and have been spending 20-30 mins here and there analyzing multi-family properties in my local area. I was hoping to get some feedback to verify I'm understanding everything corr...

Originally posted by Tinna Li:I want to learn about business, real estate, accounting and investing in stocks. .That is wise many new investor focus on real estate techniques but Real Estate Investing is a business and you need a wide variety of skills.

I live in Madison Wisconsin and I was wondering if anyone could suggest a good realtor that is good to start with and that offers great training and skills.

It is imperative that you have a property manager skilled in this niche before buying your first property.

This business is not made for most people it takes very specialized skill sets to be successful at it.

As you mentioned, some won't buy anywhere else, and if you have the skills, it can be lucrative.You have to evaluate your own skills and tolerance and decide from there.

Whether you pay them or offer free labor or provide some other skill/service they need, they have no vested interest in you, and they will likely expect something in return for helping you.Remember, you may think that by helping you, they're doing a good deed.

My first properties were 2 hours north of where I lived and one was left gutted and had to be put back together.But being involved in this level does give you some benefits:a) Appreciation for what it takes to get the work done, so that you appreciate the skills your contractors need to haveb) Basic understanding of what needs to be done, so that if you are getting bids, you can talk intelligently to a contractor (I find this to be extremely helpful as a woman as contractors will talk down to you)c) Idea of what time frame you are looking at for completion of work and in what order things have to be doneBut it's also a good idea to start distancing yourself from this.

My goal is to take the skills I use at work and use them to make my pockets bigger instead of someone else's!