I am a beginner follower in interest in real estate investing.  The biggest question for me is do I need good or great credit to start on this real estate journey?

Thank you,

Monica

There are numerous posts and articles about getting started. Just use the search box to get started. 

@Monica Miramontez

Welcome. Fill in the foundation below.

Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere

Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.

Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having over 100 past ones to catch up on.

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers). Find them through Google and meetup.com

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses, The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

Consider checking out HUD homes for small multi's owner occupied gets first crack.

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good Luck

Paul 

@Monica Miramontez howdy!

Nothing wrong with being a beginner. I don't want you to fall into any easy yellow brick road tricks. Your income raises to your know how.

The other commenters are steering you straight. Exhaust all the free resources here while you repair your credit and save up some money.

When you get your multifamily (and you absolutely can do so) you're going to need a solid cash cushion.

You are also going to need to improve your current financial habits in order to KEEP all the money you're going to make. I don't want you to be the next Mike Tyson!

So you've got some homework to do Sister. And we are here to tutor you along and step you through the process.

With that said - here's a 6-step plan for your consideration:

1 - dive in to the BP blog

2 - use the search tool to learn more about particular terms.

3 - ask questions on the forums after you've done a few searches.  Folks will rush to help you once they see you've made an effort on your part.

4 - grow your know-how and watch your financial situation improve.

5 - buy that multifamily rental

6 - send me a Skype invite so we can party together.

Best to you!

Thank you for that pearl of information and advice.  I definitely know I have some homework cut out for me.  I just don't want to look back when I'm a senior citizen and broke and regretting not heeding to your advice so, thank you for your time and intelligence.

Cheers, 

Monica

@Monica Miramontez

All the information above is what you need! You asked about credit and yes, it's possible to begin your real estate journey without good or great credit. I'm not sure where you are, but I spent time this week talking with lenders. 620 and above should be able to get you conventional financing with the lenders I spoke with and 640 and above for FHA financing. Outside of going a "traditional" route, I've read on private lending, owner/seller financing, and a heap of other ways to get funds for your projects.

Just as @Brooks Rembert mentioned, use the search tool in the upper right and literally type in financing with good credit or poor credit. I've found an answer to pretty much everything I need! 

You certainly need to invest your time and resources in repairing your credit. I've gotten mine above 750 now so it's very possible with discipline and determination, all the ingredients you'll need to be a real estate investor anyway! Good luck! 

Originally posted by @Lauren Lockett :

@Monica Miramontez

All the information above is what you need! You asked about credit and yes, it's possible to begin your real estate journey without good or great credit. I'm not sure where you are, but I spent time this week talking with lenders. 620 and above should be able to get you conventional financing with the lenders I spoke with and 640 and above for FHA financing. Outside of going a "traditional" route, I've read on private lending, owner/seller financing, and a heap of other ways to get funds for your projects.

Just as @Brooks Rembert mentioned, use the search tool in the upper right and literally type in financing with good credit or poor credit. I've found an answer to pretty much everything I need! 

You certainly need to invest your time and resources in repairing your credit. I've gotten mine above 750 now so it's very possible with discipline and determination, all the ingredients you'll need to be a real estate investor anyway! Good luck! 

 Congrats! 740 score gets you the best rates in most (if not all?) banks already, so you are in a good spot.

@Che Chiu Wong

Thank you! To really get there, I paid off my car and got a credit card to diversify my credit into what I needed for that mortgage. The trick now is that I'm self employed without a regular full time W2 income. To obtain financing, I've got to have close to 2 years of rental income + self employment income so that I can get financed as self employed. My solution in the meantime is to use my husband's.That's alright! I get to explore other creative financing and learning to work with others in the meantime! Do the thing and you will have the power!