{"id":114737,"date":"2019-08-23T05:00:10","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T11:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/?p=114737"},"modified":"2021-03-16T14:55:32","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T20:55:32","slug":"real-estate-new-investors-simple-steps-get-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/real-estate-new-investors-simple-steps-get-started","title":{"rendered":"Start Investing in Real Estate: 4 Simple Steps for New Investors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Alright, how do you get started with real estate? If you\u2019re brand new, you\u2019re probably wondering what the first step is. Let me give you just a few pieces of advice.<\/p>\n<h2>4 Things Every New Real Estate Investor Must Do<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9WMi7G-rDfg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<h3>Read everything.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>First of all, I\u2019d recommend reading everything that you can on the subject on a wide level. For example, what is real estate? How does it work?<\/p>\n<p>Go real wide, then once you start to understand what sounds pretty good to you or what sounds horrible, focus on the things that you think are going to fit well with your local market, with your skillset, with your time availability, with how much cash you have. Then, really go deep into something and get focused and specific on that thing.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in the beginning, you\u2019re not sure what you want to do, so <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">listen to podcasts<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/store\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">read books<\/a> and all that. And then focus in when you\u2019re like, \u201cOh, wow! Rental properties in Ohio sound really great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Focus on that. Then, become really, really good at that.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related:<\/em><\/strong><em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/mistakes-first-year-investing-real-estate\" target=\"_blank\">8 Stupid Mistakes to Avoid as a New Real Estate Investor<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>\n<h3>Network with other investors.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>You naturally become like the people you associate with, so start associating with people in your market. For example, go to BiggerPockets.com\/events. Head there and you can find local meetups happening all over the country, all the time, in neighborhoods like yours.<\/p>\n<p>Now, you might go there and say, \u201cHey, there\u2019s no meetup in this area!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s awesome. Because that means you get to go and actually host it. The people who host meetups don\u2019t have to be good at it, you know? You just have to be able to bring together some people at a bar, at a restaurant, at a club\u2014whatever. You just have to be able to get people together.<\/p>\n<p>Then, you become the hub. You start to know who the players are in your market. People look up to you, and people get closer with you. So, by becoming the hub or going to these meetups and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/forums\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">networking<\/a>, you become like those people you surround yourself with.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-114288 size-main-slider\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/model-house-at-sunset-702x336.jpg\" alt=\"Small model home on green grass with sunlight abstract background. Vintage tone filter effect color style.\" width=\"702\" height=\"336\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>\n<h3>Take consistent and daily action.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Now, what does that mean? It means every single day, do something.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example. Say you\u2019re reading a Stephen King book. It would probably take the average person a month. But it wouldn\u2019t be a month of solid reading. It would be 20 or 30 hours\u2014read a few minutes, then put it down, then pick it up a couple days later. There are books I\u2019ve been reading for two or three years, right, because I rarely pick it up.<\/p>\n<p>But if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/store\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">every single day you picked up a book<\/a> and you read it for 20 minutes, you could finish an entire book in a week or two. It\u2019s about consistent, daily action. I\u2019m just using the book thing as an example.<\/p>\n<p>Realistically, it applies to anything in life. Get consistent and daily with your actions. A couple of easy things to do as a real estate investor\u2014even if you&#8217;re brand new\u2014start <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/calc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">analyzing deals every single day<\/a>. Just go to Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Redfin.com, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/real-estate-listings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets Marketplace<\/a> and find properties that are for sale. Run the numbers. It doesn\u2019t take anything; you can sit in your chair and do it. You don\u2019t have to go anywhere. Get really good at running the numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Use software like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/calc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BiggerPockets calculators<\/a>. If you run the numbers every day and you spent five minutes every day doing so, after two months of doing that every day for five minutes, you would have analyzed 60 deals in your market. Don\u2019t you think you\u2019d have a pretty good idea on what average prices are and what you think rents might go for or where you\u2019re going to go next or what the next step might be. You\u2019ll be a rock star after 60 deals analyzed.<\/p>\n<p>Most people have analyzed one or two maybe ever, and they get stuck. That leads me to the next point.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related:<\/em><\/strong><em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/noi-explained\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This is the One Metric Every New Real Estate Investor Must Know<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>\n<h3>Ask better questions.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you&#8217;re at that point where you\u2019re like, \u201cWell, I&#8217;m not sure what the next step is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then, you need to ask better questions. So many people just sit there not knowing what to do, so they don\u2019t do anything. But start asking a question every day: \u201cWhat is the next thing I need to go do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Start focusing if you\u2019re stuck. If you don\u2019t know how to analyze deals, ask, \u201cHow do I analyze deals?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, you\u2019ve asked a better question. Your brain starts looking for a better answer. And that\u2019s how you get over those things with every step of the process. Continue to ask yourself, \u201cAm I asking the best question? How can I reformulate this, so I ask a better question?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And then go out and seek it and sometimes you can find the answer to those questions. Maybe you find it by reading a book or by meeting with a local real estate investor. You can ask those better questions and stew on it for a while, and then maybe the answer will come to you at 3 in the morning while you\u2019re lying in bed. You never know!<\/p>\n<h2>The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n<p>So, what should you do? Follow these four steps. Don\u2019t come back to me and complain that you don\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n<p>Do those four steps. Do them over and over. Rinse and repeat.<\/p>\n<p>If you do, you\u2019re going to have massive success in your real estate endeavors.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/real-estate-investing\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-114265\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/4.jpg\" alt=\"ad-ultimate-beginners-guide\" width=\"706\" height=\"125\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/4.jpg 706w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/4-300x53.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/4-702x125.jpg 702w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Is something holding you back from getting started? What is it? How can I help?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Leave a comment below.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you get started with real estate? If you\u2019re brand new, you\u2019re probably wondering what the first step is. Let me give you just a few pieces of advice. If you follow them, you\u2019re going to have massive success in your real estate endeavors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":710,"featured_media":114367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5524],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-investing-for-beginners"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}