BiggerPockets

Absolutely possible to start small...don't let something as little as a day-job stop you from jumping in...

My biggest piece of advice if you're going to do real estate part time:

Be prepared for some long hours and hard work at the beginning. If you think real estate is something you can get successful at by doing it 2 hours a week, you're going to get frustrated when you don't get anywhere...

Allocate enough time, and spend that time focused on what you need to get done.

The biggest reason I see part-time investors fail is that they are lazy. They finish their "real job," and instead of doing marketing, finding houses, talking to other investors or whatever it is they should be doing, they instead end up plopping on the couch in front of the TV and don't get anything done.

So, make the commitment BEFORE you start, make a plan, and then start executing your plan EVERY SINGLE DAY.

If you do that, you may not need that "real job" for too much longer... :)

You can always do the same closer to home. Hire everything out.

But, whether its far or near, having others do all the work is going to take a cut of your income. And, it means you have a different set of people to manage. Whether its more or less work to manage PM's and contractors from far away seems to be debatable.

I think most people at least start off in RE part time. Maybe they eventually do enough that its full time. Realize there's a lot to real estate that falls into the "JOB" category, no matter what gurus say. Wholesaling, being a RE agent, fix and flipping, developing, and property management are all jobs. You do the work, you get paid. No work, no pay.

I am a part time investor I buy about 2 to 3 rentals a year and I put maybe 4 hours into each one I have a great team that i have i buy rental 20 to 30 thousand below the appraisal value and i buy them with very little out of pocket and i make sure they are positive after all expenses i am on target to have enough homes in the next 5 to 6 years that i will more then replace my current business income that is close to 100 K a year love to help any body looking for some tips get in touch with me

It soujnds like your dealing with more mental insecurities than anything. That was always the toughest hurdle. For every "you can", there are 30 -40 "I can'ts" that are in the back of their minds. We, as people are far more easier to believe the bad than good, no matter how apparent the good might be. I would advise never to stop trying to convince your friends that they absolutely can do it. One great way to start is to make a group thing of it. Brain storm during the week everyone finds just one property, you meet for breakfast, talk about strategies, and drive. ROAD TRIP!! then little by little hand out weekly assignments ie finding lenders, bandit sign duty, calling homeowners, door knocking, you name it.

But the challenge is more mental, so your main battle is "the fear"

"An idiot and his money is soon parted."

There is a reason for this saying. Some of the advice you have received here is solid. Some is not.

Start with one house, go through the process of finding, buying, renovating, managing and learn. You will make many mistakes, and pay the price but you will, hopefully, not repeat them on the second one and so on.

Buying out of town is a terrible idea to start, you have not the experience and guess what, all "your" people will want to make money, gee, and they will see you as an income source that is not there to watch, you know, a bank.

Buying 3 or 4 houses a year to get to your goal is great if you have the cash reserves and experience to renovate and manage, otherwise your first trashing of a property, bad rental period, and they happen, will end your adventure and add some time to your planned work life.

Be cautious. Start very small and very cautious and pay your dues. You will pay for your errors and this should be expected.

But don't add leverage to you list of early errors. Leverage has its uses but not during a learning phase.
Would you buy stocks on margin when you are just beginning to invest? Don't do it here either.

That said, this is a great time to find good units to add to your retirement or for flips sometime in the future.

A good time to begin, as your mistakes can be covered by the expected valuation increases to come.

But no-one knows when the increase will come and further decreases in value and rents certainly appear more likely in the short term.

There is no get rich quick path, and anyone who tells you there is is full of it.

It is work.

Originally posted by abhyler

I have the same questions with a concern....I have a full time job and have been doing real estate on the side for several years....but, I'm afraid I will never know when to dedicate my FULL time to it. I want to everyday...but don;t have the courage to take the risk. If I don't make the same as my full time job...we (my family) will be in trouble.

How many people do you know that work full time and have investments?

How many people do you know that run a full time investing business?

If it were not REI, would you be willing to quit your day job to become self employed? That is what it is equal to. If I made 3 times what I make at my day job in REI for at least 1 full year, then I might possibly consider quitting again, but at this point in my life, if all I am doing is matching the wage I am paid at my day job, why in the word would I cut off half of my household income by quitting my day job?

Just think about how freeing it would be to show up everyday for a year, knowing that you are making 3 times more than your make at your day job in your investments. It makes working a whole lot less stressful and eaiser to take time to enjoy the role you play in the company you work for.

I've been actively "doing real estate on the side" for over five years. It's nothing short of having a second full time job, at least for me anyways.

Real estate investing takes work. And lots of hard work. Piles of cash don't just show up on your door step (contrary to the late night gurus). You'll need to have a clear goal and proceed with a plan. Otherwise, you could end up like me and run in 12 different directions! :)

I stay extremely busy. The spill over from REI has greatly affected my job performance at the 9-5. I think it's the psycological barrier that's keeping me from leaving and making REI my full time gig. Until I do so, I'll be run ragged, but that's my own fault!

great thread! i think through this every day. i have come to the conclusion that if/when I get to that time where my re salary is 2 to 3 times my career salary and the time feels right, then jump. but if I am able to manage the re business very efficiently in 12-15 hours a week, it will make it tough, my approach is just to keep growing the business and if i ever get to the point to where i feel like my time is more valuable to growing re and i am in a position to continue to get finance, its adios!

>>Numerous friends of mine are eager to dabble in real estate...<<

Dabble??? How utterly amusing.

Like any other business, REI is full of some of the smartest, competitive, well-connected and well-financed players in existence, who eat sleep and dream REI.

You might just as easily 'dabble' in day trading, horse racing, Texas Hold-em or mixed martial arts.

Not that it can't be done, I suppose, but I can name a dozen addresses within a mile of my home where some 'dabbler' is in foreclosure, and whose properties are getting picked up at big discounts.

Hmmm, on second thought bring on more 'dabblers'....