Getting into the market -- any advice?

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Roger Vi · Answer

I'm jealous, I wish I had 3 friends that knew what financial freedom meant when I was your age @Elijah Kerns :D

You guys will rock this game, I'm excited to see what kind of stories you bring to BP in the next few years!

Roger Vi · Answer

Some quick pointers from my personal experience:

1) Don't plan on sticking with your 4 man team for your entire RE investing career. Personally, I would avoid it all together. Business and Friends is always a tough mix. I've lost/changed many friendships over business to the point that I completely stopped talking about money in general with people I consider close friends. I just recently started bringing up my business life to my friends; and I am extremely selective with how I bring it up and who I bring it up to.

2) You are still in high school, so take the time to learn and don't jump into anything just because someone says its a good idea. You will know you are ready when you have an exact purpose for your first RE purchase. Just buying a home to "get into real estate" is not a good purpose.

3) Don't think you have to depend on your mentor or anyone else's finances/advice to make it in this game. Many people do it on their own. It only takes 2 years W-2 income to qualify for a loan. When I was fresh out of HS, I realized this and decided a full time job was the most important thing for me to have at the time (graduated in 2008 and saw the falling prices coming back up). I dropped out of the University of Washington to work 6-7 days a week at a dead end job. Before my 20th birthday I was qualified to buy a cheap condo. Luckily, I waited until my income/savings was higher the next year to purchase a cheap single family home instead. Total out of pocket cost to acquire property was less than $10K (purchase price $180K).

4) Continue to learn. Read BP, listen to podcasts, find more mentors... Do anything and everything you can to build your knowledge until the day you realize your time is better spent working/finding deals than learning. Even then, keep learning.

You've made the right first step just by talking about RE. Good luck on your journey!

Brandon Turner · Answer

Hey @Elijah Kerns welcome to the site! It's great to have you and it's great that you are starting young. Have you checked this already? http://biggerpockets.com/askbp032

Elijah Kerns · Answer

Thanks, Roger. We are all just trying to learn the basics together. No intentions of sticking together for long just learning. our purpose is to get on the path of financial freedom. You bring up excellent points.

Elijah Kerns · Answer

I have not but will today! Thanks a lot. @Brandon Turner

Getting into the market -- any advice?

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