How did you start out?

[Chris Hayes]

How did you start out in real estate investing? Did you just start out investing, or did you work in a related industry or maybe have a business related to investing? I work in truck maintenance at a major distribution center now, but really want to become self employed and get involved in real estate investing. A couple routes I've looked into are becoming a home inspector, starting a painting business, or maybe doing photography for investors/agents. Maybe a combination! Any of those would open doors into the world of real estate. FYI, I live in Oklahoma City.

[Account Closed]

I tried to buy a home with my boyfriend when we were about 19 years old.  The seller let us give him our $2,000 hard-earned downpayment money back in 1975 - for a home that he was not legally entitled to sell to us.

We should have sued him, but what I ended up doing was going to college to study real estate law so nobody could rip me off again.

I avoided a disaster with my next purchase, by knowing how to read and understand the title search, which was a nightmare on the next place I was interested in.

And eventually, I was able to buy and sell for profit - after I knew what I was doing.  Knowledge is power.  Learn as much as you can.