Hey I'm in inspiring REI looking to get into the buy and hold method I've been studying Real Estate for about 6 months. I'm currently trying to save up money in order to do a house hack in my area (Huntsville, AL). I was wondering if there was something i could be doing while in this saving period to actually apply what I'm learning during my study's. Like do work for someone for free or something like that?

@Samuel Smith in a less expensive market like that you won't have to save for long, however I'd suggest you start looking now as if you were ready to buy.  Just online don't make a realtor drag you all over town but you will get a good feel for the market and what your budget buys, what is a good deal and what is a bad deal.

@Aaron K. Ok thank you I would like a obtain a multi family home I’m finding that to be a challenge because I’m not seeing a on website like realtor in my area the ones that I found I’m playing with to get and understand the numbers better. I’ve planned with my income and budget I’ve set I should have enough for a down payment in about a year.

@Samuel Smith actually 2 years sorry that was wrong.

@Samuel Smith - Definitely continue educating yourself. Read books, listen to podcasts, watch webinars, etc. All of that stuff is here on BiggerPockets. 

If you want to gain first hand experience, I would recommend going to meetups in your area. Try to find an agent who works with house hackers. Chat with him/her. Maybe you shadow them as they show their future house hacking clients around so you can see what to look for in a house hack.

@Samuel Smith You can and should always be building up and expanding your network. Maybe start a meetup or at the very least be attending them and meeting people. By getting out there and networking you may find more and even better opportunities than what you are looking at now. Like they say, your network is your net worth. Always expand your network and you should never be short on things to do.

ok ty all for your replies I really appreciate all the valueable information and will put it to good use.

@Samuel Smith Good to hear that you are looking into investing in the Huntsville area. In addition to research and networking on BiggerPockets, I would recommend going to local meetups. You can find them on meetup.com or Facebook groups.

Also, try to add value to other local investors by seeing how they analyze deals, walk properties with them, etc. Exchange some time in order to learn some hands on knowledge. Shoot me a DM if you would like to connect.

@Tim White Thank you for feedback I currently go to a local meetup that I found once a month. I'm getting a lot of good information while also trying to build up my network later this month I'll have my finances in order after this move to buy the pro membership so I can start analysis more deals. I've done a few using properties on Realtor, but was wondering if off-market deals was a better way to go in such a hot market?

@Samuel Smith   That is good to hear.  In the current market you would need to look at all sources to find good potential deals.  I would recommend reaching out to wholesalers, looking at foreclosures, and contacting sellers directly to find better deals.

@Tim White Thank you i will definitely be looking into those avenues and building up skills so when I have the money I can feel confident enough to pull the trigger. Right now the only thing I have going for me is my high credit score and my job.