What is the best way to begin learning?

Question

I am a 19-year-old college student and am highly interested in the world of real estate in several aspects, such as being an agent, house hacking, and rental properties. Before attempting to throw myself in deeper, I wondered if anybody had books, YouTube videos, podcasts, or any other type of media I could use to become more familiar with the world of real estate and how it functions. Some other information I am looking for is information on wholesaling and how it works, as well as how to find out about off-market deals. As I said before, any media regarding any of these topics or even real estate as a whole would be greatly appreciated.

Scott E. · Answer

Spend the next year:

-Listening to real estate podcasts (while you drive, at the gym, etc)

-Read 1 book per month. Look on the front page of BP or on Amazon best sellers in the business section. Focus on a mix of real estate and business books.

-Browse the BP forums for an hour every day. Read old threads. Ask questions. Start interacting with members.

You're very young. It's great to start young, but you shouldn't rush it. Spend some time building a base education first.

Jon Sabino · Answer

Thanks for the advice, it is extremely easy to hear massive real estate success stories and day dream, but the advice of taking it slow and not trying to rush into it really resonated with me.

Jon Sabino · Answer

Thank you so much for this response, it's better than any answer I could have hoped for. All of this information is super valuable, and I feel is a great outline to get started in the world of real estate.

January Johnson · Answer

There's already great advice here from seasoned pros.  I just wanted to say GOOD JOB on being interested early in your life.  You will do well with a lifelong learning attitude, openness to new ideas, being coachable, and BEING IN ACTION.  ACTION is the only thing that matters.  Good luck to you!

D’Andre Ortiz · Answer

This is all fantastic advice! I would like to reiterate how important it is to not get caught in the analysis paralysis stage. This is what kept me and many others from making any progress early on. I strongly recommend trying to single out the main thing you want to do and stick with it. It sounds like that is wholesaling. The worst thing you can do is start that endeavor and switch into multiple types of real estate without first understanding and making progress in the first one. Still couldn't have said it better than Nathan. I hope this helps!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Welcome to the BiggerPockets forums!

As others have mentioned, be careful with YouTube "experts." All the education you need is right here and in books that have been proven reliable.

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. NETWORK!!! Get out of your comfort zone. Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies that spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away. Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area. You can also find real estate investing groups through meetup.com, facebook, or a Google search. Birds of a feather flock together!

5. 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.6. 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.

7. 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.

Eliott Elias · Answer

Stay away from the podcasts, books, and YouTube videos at this stage. Dive in the deep end, headfirst, even if you feel overwhelmed. Books and podcasts are good for additional education, do not rely on them.

Abbey Humphreys · Answer

Two book that I really liked are the BRRRR Method book by David Greene and the STR handbook, Short-Term Rental Long-Term Wealth by Avery Carl. Both of these are great books for getting started in REI!

Dan Guenther · Answer

Hey @Jon Sabino - welcome to the community! You've already found one of the best spots for education right here at BP. Take some time to browse the forums and check out the "learn" tab up top for guides on getting started.

Another great resource for educational content is YouTube. You can find videos on pretty much every real estate strategy out there.

Reach out if you want to connect and talk a bit more about getting started. Happy to walk you through some goal setting.

Account Closed · Answer

I started the journey a few months back. One thing I really liked was the biggerpocket podcast. You can listen to them while doing other things. They bring up successful guests that went through this process and discuss various strategies. Good luck and looking forward to other great investors' advice.

What is the best way to begin learning?

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