23 Year Old Recent College Grad Looking to Become a REI

[Nicholas R Foster]

Hi Everyone, for the past three months since I have graduated I have taken baby steps in learning how to become a Real Estate Investor (listening and reading BP podcasts/books & real estate podcasts in the Chicago area such as the "Straight Up Chicago Investor") I have also recently started a full time job in which I am leveraging to support my goal of becoming a REI. For these past three months I have discovered I am passionate about learning more and more about real estate investing each and everyday, it is all I want to do with my free time on the weekends and days off work. My intermediate family and inner circle is not as interested in REI such as I am, so everything I am learning I don't really have anyone to speak about it with or learn from. Although I still have a lot of learning to do I am very eager to learn more and I am currently looking for colleagues/references or a mentor/advisor to take me under their wing to learn from and help out with my free time. To get skin in the game I am interested in starting out with house-hacking but I would love to hear advice from investors on how you started out in REI, what you may believe is the best route and if there any more methods towards learning more about Real Estate Investing. In addition, if there any meet-ups, seminars or events in general regarding REI in the Chicago or West Suburban Area I would to know for I can connect, network and continue to expand my knowledge within REI.

[Paul De Luca]

@Nicholas R Foster

Welcome to the forums! House hacking is a great way to get started investing in real estate, which has been my strategy as well. I'm happy to share my experience, resources, and advice if you have any questions - if so just send me a PM.

Link to a comprehensive list of real estate meet ups: https://www.straightupchicagoi...

[Victor So]

Hey @Nicholas R Foster ! Welcome to the forums. Househacking is the best way to get started. I believe that you should always be househacking in some way. I’ve househacked for the past 5 years now and have acquired 10 units this way. And I’m still househacking my current residence although I have a wife and daughter. I’d be happy to share my experience with you! DM me. 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Nicholas R Foster:

Welcome to the BiggerPockets forums!

Go to NETWORK at the top of your screen and you can search for other investors and investment groups in your area. You can also check meetup.com or search facebook for real estate investment groups, clubs, or meetings in your area.

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. There is a handy search bar in the upper right that makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, it will be much easier to recognize a good deal when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

5. Study the market. You can learn to do this on your own or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR that works with investors and knows how to best help you.

6. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you just need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a pretty forgiving world and the average person can still make money even with some pretty big mistakes.

[Nate Sanow]

Happy for you getting going and started.  I always tell someone new to really focus on getting experience on 2 big things in their first few years:  1. Walk as many properties as possible.  Do this by going to open houses with some friends on the weekends, and target flipped properties in areas you like or want to invest in.  Also, if there are investor open houses in your area, where wholesalers are trying to sell vacant properties, go see fixer uppers…again if possible bring a friend.  I know this seems elementary but, in a normal year / normal life we maybe go to a dozen houses or less if you think about it, family, friends - we don’t just show up at a ton of properties…but in Real Estate, you need to begin to notice what makes one type of property different or similar to another so you can “Comp” properties.  

2.  In addition to this, put yourself in any environment possible to be around a higher volume of RE transactions.  You can do this by working at a mortgage company, title company, wholesaler company, real estate brokerage, OR if those things don’t seem practical you can do it vicariously by making friends with investors buying and selling multiple times a month, getting to know them, and eventually they might take you to the closing table, and to walk property when they buy.  

The point is, right now it seems like a lot, like RE is so crazy complicated…but after awhile, you see it the same as a check out line at the store.  There is a simple process of exchanging goods & services for revenue…

I wish you well and keep going and keep learning.  Best wishes to your success.  

[Jonathan Klemm]

Hey @Nicholas R Foster - Welcome to the Chicago BP forums and congrats for jumping right in!  Out of curiosity what is your current job?

Love your passion for real estate it's an awesome industry that we really aren't taught about in school.....which is sad.   We love helping out and working with newer investors.  I know how hard it was for me to get my first deal under my belt.  

If you are listening to Straight Up Chicago Investors and you haven't already visited their website you should.  It has a done of great local Chicago meetups.

Most importantly we are having a Christmas party on December 2nd, you won't want to miss it.  https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

[John Warren]

@Nicholas R Foster welcome to the forums1 You already had a lot of folks reach out with good advice. I started out trying to house hack, but I ended up doing a live in flip. I then bought another single-family home that was distressed, and I fixed it up slowly over the past few years. I used the equity from my homes to buy apartment buildings. It took a lot of hard work, but it paid off! 

Which areas are you looking to live/invest in? I see you tagged Naperville, which is a great spot if you want to focus on single family homes in some fashion. If you want multi units you will likely gravitate back towards the city of Chicago and its western suburbs or towards one of the cities further west like Aurora or Joliet. 

[Nicholas R Foster]

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @Nicholas R Foster:

Welcome to the BiggerPockets forums!

Go to NETWORK at the top of your screen and you can search for other investors and investment groups in your area. You can also check meetup.com or search facebook for real estate investment groups, clubs, or meetings in your area.

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. There is a handy search bar in the upper right that makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, it will be much easier to recognize a good deal when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

5. Study the market. You can learn to do this on your own or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR that works with investors and knows how to best help you.

6. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you just need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a pretty forgiving world and the average person can still make money even with some pretty big mistakes.

 Thank you for this break down Nathan! This is the guidance I am looking for, this was very helpful.

[Nicholas R Foster]

Quote from @Nate Sanow:

Happy for you getting going and started.  I always tell someone new to really focus on getting experience on 2 big things in their first few years:  1. Walk as many properties as possible.  Do this by going to open houses with some friends on the weekends, and target flipped properties in areas you like or want to invest in.  Also, if there are investor open houses in your area, where wholesalers are trying to sell vacant properties, go see fixer uppers…again if possible bring a friend.  I know this seems elementary but, in a normal year / normal life we maybe go to a dozen houses or less if you think about it, family, friends - we don’t just show up at a ton of properties…but in Real Estate, you need to begin to notice what makes one type of property different or similar to another so you can “Comp” properties.  

2.  In addition to this, put yourself in any environment possible to be around a higher volume of RE transactions.  You can do this by working at a mortgage company, title company, wholesaler company, real estate brokerage, OR if those things don’t seem practical you can do it vicariously by making friends with investors buying and selling multiple times a month, getting to know them, and eventually they might take you to the closing table, and to walk property when they buy.  

The point is, right now it seems like a lot, like RE is so crazy complicated…but after awhile, you see it the same as a check out line at the store.  There is a simple process of exchanging goods & services for revenue…

I wish you well and keep going and keep learning.  Best wishes to your success.  

 Thank you Nate for your insight! This was very helpful, I am going to full advantage of experience number 1 for the remaining of this year and next year as well!

[Nicholas R Foster]

Quote from @Jonathan Klemm:

Hey @Nicholas R Foster - Welcome to the Chicago BP forums and congrats for jumping right in!  Out of curiosity what is your current job?

Love your passion for real estate it's an awesome industry that we really aren't taught about in school.....which is sad.   We love helping out and working with newer investors.  I know how hard it was for me to get my first deal under my belt.  

If you are listening to Straight Up Chicago Investors and you haven't already visited their website you should.  It has a done of great local Chicago meetups.

Most importantly we are having a Christmas party on December 2nd, you won't want to miss it.  https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Glad to be here Jonathan! My current job is a Manager Trainee at Enterprise.

Thank you for sharing this event with me! I will more than likely be attending, I am looking forward to connecting.

[Jonathan Klemm]

Likewise @Nicholas R Foster.  I know for me, as continued to step out of my comfort zone to attend more and more in-person Chicago networking events, I felt a shift of confidence. 

95% appreciate when someone walks up to them and says hi....so be that guy!

[Mark Ainley]

@Nicholas R Foster congrats on being here and thanks for listening to the podcast.  I will send you a DM on local meetups and I am right in St Charles where maybe we can connect someday for coffee.  Enterprise is a great organization to learn Leadership so that is a good move to make for now.  

[Eliott Elias]

Never too early to start, be a sponge. Meet every single investor doing deals in your area and learn from how they are investing 

[Nicholas R Foster]

Quote from @Mark Ainley:

@Nicholas R Foster congrats on being here and thanks for listening to the podcast.  I will send you a DM on local meetups and I am right in St Charles where maybe we can connect someday for coffee.  Enterprise is a great organization to learn Leadership so that is a good move to make for now.  

Thanks Mark and it’s my pleasure, the podcast is very informative! Thanks for sending the meet ups via DM as well. Currently I reside in West Chicago so that’s perfect, I’ll take you out for coffee or lunch. Shortly I will be sending a DM to discuss which location/time/day may work best for the both of us. That’s very reassuring to hear and it is what I’ve noticed throughout the time I’ve been with the company so far. At this moment of my life I’m huge on leveraging this job and taking the all the great skill sets enterprise has to offer and finding a way to apply them to my REI journey!