New Member seeking some input

[Dave Williar]

Good Morning All, my name is Dave. I am a new member and I am seeking information on both flipping and long term real estate investment. 

A little about myself. I have many years around construction both commercial and residential. I also have owned a food truck and I am currently selling my semi truck and equipment and getting out of trucking. I am an independent contractor at the moment and manage commercial construction projects for a large size developer. 

 I am an investor in the stock market and have been for some time, and now I want to look at real estate and try to build a portfolio while mixing in some income from improve and sell opportunities. 

I am from Baltimore, Md area but I have a place in Athens Ohio and this is the area  where I would like to look for opportunities for both short and long term real estate investment. 

Having said all that, what are some good resources to read to develop a deeper knowledge of the business?

What are some good resources for finding potential deals to run some calculations even if in practice?

What are good resources for learning the markets in the areas I'll be buying in? 

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

[Jia Pan]

Hey Dave, welcome! Sounds like you've got a great background for this — the construction experience especially is a huge advantage. Most people starting out don't know what they're looking at with a potential fixer. You already do.

A couple things that helped me when I was getting started:

For finding deals, I'd start with the MLS plus driving for dollars in the Athens area. With your construction background you can spot properties that look rough but are actually just cosmetic, which is where the margin is. The BP calculators are decent for running initial numbers, but I'd build your own simple spreadsheet too — that way you really understand what each number means instead of treating it like a black box.

For learning the market, spend some time talking to a couple local agents and property managers in Athens. They'll know what rents are actually getting vs what's listed. Also the county auditor site is free and shows you what properties actually sold for, which is way more useful than Zestimate-type stuff.

For books, The Book on Flipping Houses by J Scott is solid if you're thinking about flips. Long Distance Real Estate Investing by David Greene is good too even if Athens isn't that far from Baltimore.

Good luck with the transition out of trucking. That's a big move and it takes guts to switch industries.