Hey! My names Karam I'm new to real estate and im looking for someone that can point me in the right direction and help me get started.

Sure I can try to help

Ive never owned a property and I'm 18 and I dont know how to find a house with a good deal or equity. I've watched videos but no one really goes into depth. How did you buy you first property and how many do you have? If you dont mind me asking that question. Thank you so much by the way

I own several. Buying another now. Use an agent that’s a good place to start.

Where/how can I find one near me? In auctions?

@Karam Charrouf type the “@“ sigh and then tag me otherwise I won’t see this.

Idk where you are but you can google it or use BP. The key is to find one that works with investors.

Clearly you should probably educAte yourself more

@Caleb Heimsoth I'm in Orlando Florida

@Karam Charrouf do you have a steady income ?

@Caleb Heimsoth No I quit my job recently. But I have 3k in savings and planning to get another job. I was wondering if for my first home I can live in it and rent 2 rooms that can pay my mortgage down or off for me.

@Karam Charrouf I am new to all this as well but I recommend listening to all the BP podcasts and ordering the books they recommend. This site is great to read up on and build your knowledge.

To buy a house you need a couple of things.
1. A job. A bank won’t give you a mortgage without a steady income.
2. A credit history. Same reason as above.
3. Money saved, 3k is a great start. You can think about putting that into a high interest savings account or maybe an ETF to let it grow a bit, while you achieve 1&2, and continue to save.

Your on the right track by asking questions.

I also suggest you go to your local library and read some books on personal finance and real estate investing. :)

Good luck!

Thank you so much everyone! I will continue my research and keep that fire in me burning.

The other option is if you want to stick to real estate you find a partner with a good job and work with them.

House hacking is a great way to start investing. I’m trying to do that myself with a fourplex. Look up FHA loans and you can find a home with only 3.5% down and you can have the owner cover your closing costs!

I bought my first house using a VA Loan for $0. I’m now renting it out and making about $277 a month! You can probably make even more with renting it out to a couple roommates. You’re on the right track!

I’d definitely read (or listen to) the book on real estate investing with no or low money down. That’ll be a fantastic start.

@Karam Charrouf that is great advice from @Heidi Kenefick .  You can get an investment property without a job but its an entirely new animal and usually requires a very high credit and a good chunk of capital.

Typically the bank wants 6-12 months of employment history so get that job and live as lean as possible to build up your savings and research ways to boost your credit to mid 700's if possible.  This can usually be done within 12 months if you are aggressive and intentional about it.  The credit repair that is.

I recomend getting a job in a similar industry so that you can keep you 2 year job history consistent. Thats one thing lenders look at.  Try to get your credit score above 700.

If you find the right deal, you can roll over closing cost into the loan. You may be ok with only 3K down depending on the deal. I get creative depending on the situation. Find the least expensive livable house in an area that you are familiar with. Learn how to run comps. The remodeled houses in the same are which similar dimensions are normally good comps. If you can fix up your home and make it nice as the others without spending an arm and leg, the spread is equity.

@Karam Charrouf Listen to @Account Closed @Heidi Kenefick @Caleb Heimsoth , they are all pointing you in the right direction, steady income and knowledge is what you need right now, a house hack is a great option for your stage (without knowing anything about you) and keep reading everything you can on BP to learn more about how to get started.

@Karam Charrouf Speak with a loan officer, they will be able to guide you and tell you exactly what you need to do in order to achieve financing.  If you plan on purchasing in Florida, feel free to reach out to me and I would be happy to give you some referrals for great loan officers.

@Karam Charrouf - All the advice everyone is giving you is great. My only addition would be to search and analyze deals as often as possible to help you learn what a good deal looks like. I’m still a bit of a newbie myself but here is what I’ve been doing. Maybe some more experienced investors can add to this. I use Zillow to search for properties. It is good for very general use. I warn that they offer a lot of information on properties but it’s not very accurate so I don’t consider this doing due diligence. It is just a practice exercise. If you do come across a deal that you want to pursue contact an agent to get the real details of the property and also use BP for any questions your agent might not answer. Step 2 of the practice is to use the BP calculators to analyze the deals. Fill in the forms to the best of your ability and let them calculate the #s for you. After doing this several times and turning to the forums when you have questions you will build the ability to analyze a deal very quickly which will be a valuable tool in your future as an investor.

Best of luck and feel free to message me if you have questions. I’ll either help by answering or help us find the answer. Either way we both learn which is what makes BiggerPockets such a powerful tool for its members

@Karam Charrouf

Here's the awesome part, you are asking these questions at 18. You plan it right and you can be killing it by your mid 20s to 30. 

As people have mentioned, get a job and get a good paying job. Find a career where you can make a good living and work overtime like no one's business. The lifeblood to Real Estate is capital and getting it is key.

A few other things...

1. Go to your local REIs and NEVER stop attending.

2. Start listentining to all the Bigger Pockets episodes starting with episode 1.

3. Lastly, read Rich Dad Poor Dad.

@Travis Rasmussen

What is Capital and why is it key?

Also what are REIs?

@Karam Charrouf

Capital is Cash.

Cold hard Cash

I was just in another thread and a guy was asking "How can you get an investment property with less than 20-25% down" and long story shot, you kind of can't. Not necessarily impossible, but by far the easiest way people get those properties is putting down the necessary capital (cash) on the property to purchase it.

Once you get a taste of investing, the most limiting thing will always be your own cash. 

@Karam Charrouf based on your responses above you should read a lot of books and listen to many podcasts before you buy anything.

You will need a lot more cash.