23 years old , not sure where to start . Please help !!!
Real Estate Agent · New York City, NY · Member since 2017 · 150 posts · 26 votes
Here's my advise to everyone that is new to REI.
1. DETERMINE WHAT YOU WANT! (A flipping company, rental portfolio, apartment building etc....)
2. DETERMINE IF YOU CAN START THERE! (you may not be able to start with apartment building)
3. DETERMINE STRATEGY TO GET YOU THERE! (Wholesaling -> Flipping -> Apartment building)
4. FIND SOMEONE WHO IS ALREADY A ROCKSTAR WHERE YOU WANT TO START AND WORK FOR THEM/ BEFRIEND THEM.
5. LEARN THE ROPES FROM YOUR FRIEND TILL YOU REACH THAT LEVEL OF SUCCESS
6. REPEAT 4 and 5 TILL YOU GET WHERE YOU WANT TO BE!
Here's my advise to everyone that is new to REI.
1. DETERMINE WHAT YOU WANT! (A flipping company, rental portfolio, apartment building etc....)
2. DETERMINE IF YOU CAN START THERE! (you may not be able to start with apartment building)
3. DETERMINE STRATEGY TO GET YOU THERE! (Wholesaling -> Flipping -> Apartment building)
4. FIND SOMEONE WHO IS ALREADY A ROCKSTAR WHERE YOU WANT TO START AND WORK FOR THEM/ BEFRIEND THEM.
5. LEARN THE ROPES FROM YOUR FRIEND TILL YOU REACH THAT LEVEL OF SUCCESS
6. REPEAT 4 and 5 TILL YOU GET WHERE YOU WANT TO BE!
Congrats on being able to save so much on your income! You're taking the right steps for sure! If your father is on disability & your mother doesn't work, why do you have to stay in NYC? Investing is going to be A LOT harder there. Could all three of you move to the NJ or something? There you could wholesale properties to build up more cash reserves.
You can buy up to a 4 plex with an FHA loan, so you'll only need 3.5% down. You could live in one unit & rent out the other three. Your portion of the mortgage payment would be low or possibly free. I assume you are a server? There are restaurants everywhere. But you are definitely doing the right things being on BP & asking questions. I wish I would have at your age! Good luck to you!
First of all Kudos to you for having 15k in the bank while making 20k/year, frugality can be a good thing. I would pull the trigger now and start looking for a property using an FHA loan using only 3.5% down. If you get a good deal this can be a good way to get sweat equity right from the get go. I would aim to buy at least a duplex to eliminate your rent and earn some cashflow.
Good luck
@Faysal Alam I am with @Jackson Pontsler on this one. Create a business plan or a plan of action and study up on it and then execute on it. Be methodical and don't let emotions get in the way. There are multiple ways to get where you need to be. Just stay the course and you will get there. If rentals is what you want to ultimately work towards, may be best to flip one or two properties first to build up the cash reserves first then move on to acquiring rentals. That is part of my action plan to get to where I want to be. Good luck to you!
we're in the same boat - only way you're getting out is by increasing your income or you befriend someone with alot of money who's willing to lend to you.
hypothetically do you think you could find an apartment or house somewhat near NYC under 75k?
(assuming you had a 55k loan and you could throw cash offers).
If the answer is no you'll be forced to use FHA mortgages (which can be used for multiplexs - do you know any general contractors you'd trust? in NYC?
I think you should house hack but NYC isn't the location and you said you don't want to leave. That being said, be open to investing out of state, say PA, ABE area. (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton). Become familiar with good and bad areas, the markets. Get a multi that cash flows to relieve you of your rent payment....but you're going to have to put a lot more down considering your not occupying the property. Just keep saving and keep learning in the meantime. I'd advise you not to invest with a girlfriend as it is risky. What if you break up and have to sell? Money down the drain from closing costs and hopefully you can recoup what you put into it, assuming you bought right. It's just risky. Investments take a lot of effort and typically one partner is more involved than the other which could put a lot of stress on both of you. I know your antsy but I'd seriously save more $ and do it alone since you're not married. Now don't run out and get married!! LOL!!
@Account Closed great suggestion! @Faysal Alam you are on the right path but you also need to be cautious to not get into the wrong thing without the proper ressources. Listen to the podcasts and read the books suggested (borrow them from the library until you can decide which ones are must haves). New York City is soo expensive, you should research if there are other Bengali communities that are less expensive where you can possibly do a house hack and invest there. Otherwise you will have to save some more and invest out of state. In the meantime: try learning other skills like driving = become an Uber driver, learn to do home repairs = manage your own property. Be creative, persevere and put your plans to action. I am sure you will succeed. Forgot to mention find a local REIA go to the meeting and contribute anyway you can.
I, too am just starting in real estate, but I'm a couple steps ahead of you. As I have no money, I selected a smaller community outside of Phoenix, Arizona where I live and began going door-to-door with WE BUY HOUSES fliers. While I get very few calls on my fliers, I only go out from 2p-6p so I'll inadvertently meet people coming home from work, picking their kids up from school, chilling on their front porch, etc. I just got my first house under contract and wholesaled it to a flipper for $3k. In all, I spent $20 on copying and fluorescent yellow cardstock and a few hours walking the neighborhood. I've got a few other possible deals that I'm analyzing and working with my potential sellers. Most assignment fees are $3k-$10k depending on the deal. Once I've done enough of those, I'll have the money to pursue other avenues of real estate investing.
I think you should house hack but NYC isn't the location and you said you don't want to leave. That being said, be open to investing out of state, say PA, ABE area. (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton). Become familiar with good and bad areas, the markets. Get a multi that cash flows to relieve you of your rent payment....but you're going to have to put a lot more down considering your not occupying the property. Just keep saving and keep learning in the meantime. I'd advise you not to invest with a girlfriend as it is risky. What if you break up and have to sell? Money down the drain from closing costs and hopefully you can recoup what you put into it, assuming you bought right. It's just risky. Investments take a lot of effort and typically one partner is more involved than the other which could put a lot of stress on both of you. I know your antsy but I'd seriously save more $ and do it alone since you're not married. Now don't run out and get married!! LOL!!
did you meet her in NY?
If not NY may acknowledge common law marriage.
just an fyi... lol super unlikely but there have been cases.
Was thinking the same thing about you staying with your parents. You should be looking 10 steps ahead of your first move. How will your 1st purchase allow you to buy your second and so on? I understand you want to financially care for yourself and your parents however to get to that point you need to be honest with yourself about where you can invest. Amy Beth makes some good points.
OK I think I am the only one that I guess will tell you to start wholesaling.
This is what I would do.. actually let me rephrase that.. this is what I DID!
well.. wait.. let's do this.... long story short..
I invested 100 a month on a website, worked my ASSociates butt off on SEO, and did Direct mail marketing to get my first deal under contract and made 14K within 3 months of starting.
Does this mean you will make money in 3 months? YES absolutely... ...Nahh I am just kidding.. HAA I made you excited for a sec didn't I, and took it all away in an instant. I know I know I deserve to be spanked with a plucked chicken!
However... this doesnt mean you will NOT get the same or better results.
Here is my view on making deals. Work harder, be better be smarter be more awesome be more honest than anyone you compete with and within months you are bound to get attention from others.
You love with your parents, and you have a job. Seriously.. what do you have to loose really?
Take 2 months out to lock yourself up in your room. Learn all there is to know about wholesaling. Learn all there is to know about SEO, get your website after that first month, and spend the next month applying all you learned on SEO, and research direct mail marketing.
Then take 2000 dolalrs out of your 15K and send a campaign out.
Scary yes? Well absolutely but not really.
Here is what you need to realize before doing anything.
If you halfass it, you will lose 2 months of your life and 2K of your money. If you go all in and do not accept failure as an option, you have a good chance you will make it.. of course doing it the right way.
Confidence is key. Eliminate all doubt whether you are good enough. Hustle be relentless be a shark, never give up never surrender.. unless you find one in black leather outfit knee high leather boots with a leather whip. Yes then surrender and hold on for an awesome ride... but other than that... never bend over backwards.. then... again unless she is experimental... then you just are poop out of luck!
Stop,Sit, think, reflect, learn, evaluate yourself honestly and determine how bad you want it, and how far you are willing to push yourself. Most people will tell you not to do it because most people aren't like (hopefully) you.. and I.
I WILL NOT take no for an answer.. . and I would not stop till I make it. And I am still at it!
If I can do it with this monkey face... dude why couldn't you?
@Faysal Alam Congratulations for starting out so young in your investing journey. I started early on too but was very naive and not well read in finance & investing, I wish I hadn't made some of the major financial blunders I made!
As many people have mentioned reading & updating your knowledge is key. Instead of spending hours and hours reading the forums or going thru' 1 hour podcasts (which I am guilty of doing), I recommend reading books.
Books will help you with the basics and once you have your basics, you will know what to search for on the forums.
One of the book that I found incredible was Set For Life - Scott Trench
Wish you all the very best!
As you are reading this book, keep a notebook and make notes.
In terms of affordability of a multi-unit, most loans will allow you to use 75% of projected rental income to help qualify for the loan. So if you buy a 4-plex and live in one of the units and its projected you can rent out the other units for $4,000 total a month they can add $3,000 to your income. I'm actually in the process of searching for a place with my family and just confirmed this with my mortgage broker last week.
@Faysal Alam lot of good advice here. I'll just mention a lot of people try to get into real estate by figuring out how to stretch their savings to do it. Some others leverage their time to educate themselves through books, podcasts, etc. However, there's not typically enough emphasis on the impact that expanding your network can have. I think one of the key take home messages of @Dave Van Horn's new book is how much the people he met along the way helped him to get to where he is now. Don't underestimate the power of the connections you can forge along the way!
The one thing I didn't hear was your expenses and debts. How much of your $40K/YR are you able to SAVE each year? Good on you for starting young and having the courage to reach out for help. In order of importance, I'd do the following if I were in your shoes.
1) Pay off any consumer debt. Anything you're paying to creditors is money you can't save and invest.
2) Take 3-6 months a read everything you can possible find on money, investing, real estate, business, leadership, etc. A few examples that are great would be: The Richest Man in Babylon, The Millionaire Next Door, Ninja Selling, The 12 Week Year, Raving Fans, The Miracle Morning, The Speed of Trust, The Art of The Deal, Business by the Book, and there are tons more. Bottom line...Knowledge truly is power. Start there.
3) Determine where you want to be in 5-10 years. Dream big but be realistic. What does the 30 year old you look like? What are you doing? How? Where?
4) Once you've laid out that vision for what your ideal life looks like, start walking that back to where you're out now and determine what you need to accomplish in the next 3 years to meet your 10 year goal. What do you need to do in the next year to meet your 3 year goal. What do you need to be doing each DAY to make each week productive so that each month your goals are met.
5) Surround yourself with people that are successfully doing what you want to be doing. If you can't surround yourself with them physically (the best option) at least surround yourself with them visually and emotionally. Ways to do that include posters of those achieving what you want to achieve, reading books by those that have succeeded doing what you want to do, listening to podcast or watching videos of professionals in your desired area etc.
I'm going to stop there because I don't want this to become a novel but hopefully this has given you some great food for thought. Keep focusing on your future, planning your tomorrow, and executing TODAY and you'll get where you want to be!