Hello everyone my name is sigyfredo and I'm 21 years old , so I want to start investing into rental properties and start flipping houses, I do understand that reading books will help me increase my knowledge, but wanted to ask the bigger pockets community what are some other ways y'all did to increase your knowledge?
Also I wanted to ask, when y'all first started investing what are some mistakes y'all did that affected you long term or even short term.
Youtube, mentors and podcast are the best for knowledge, once you have a decent base taking the first step will teach you the most. Personally not being on a budget and bank accounts set up for personal vs business. For deals, not doing enough due diligence or getting outside opinions on deals. So easy to get excited and overlook many things
I recommend start by buying a home, living in, fixing it up and renting out extra rooms to friends. I did this when I started out and sold that home to buy my next. My biggest regret is selling that home, I wish I had found a way to keep it. Please reach out with any questions, and I hope to see you at a meetup one day. They are great ways to meet other investors and pick their brain.
Pull the trigger and don't be afraid to let go of a property if it doesn't make sense. Get good at running numbers and trust them. "If it doesn't make money, it doesn't make sense."
Don't start out with a negative cashflow property - reason being - you want to start off with good habits. It doesn't need to be the best deal in the world, as long as it's not negative, you'll have a good asset, and you'll be able to recognize the good / better / bad deals a lot quicker.
One thing I'm glad I did - look at out of state markets. Columbus has been pretty good to me and all of my properties have had positive cashflow from day one. Nothing life changing, but it helps and will, in time, turn into cashflow you'll be glad you have.