I want to start by saying a little about myself.

Hi I am Tristin! I am a 21 year old from central Indiana currently between Indianapolis and Lafayette Indiana. I have a large passion for things that alow me to struggle but succeed in the end and involve numbers. One thing I would like to point out is I'm currently going on month one of six in my set time to learn and amass knowledge about real estate investment. So far 2 general strategies intrest me the Buy, Rehab, rent, Refinance, repeat strategy (or BRRRR as people call it) and the trade up method. While the trade up method sounds nice I have been gravitating to the BRRRR method because it looks the easiest to get into.

Now before we continue I would like to add a few things in list format.

1.) I am currently making 8$/hr and live with my parents but I'm looking into getting a job in real estate management and/or mentor in my area that I can ask questions to, bring deals to them in return and learn from.

2.) I have NO credit. Like not a single credit card, nothing my credit score on credit karma is nothing. I dont even know how to get a credit card honestly and have yet to look into credit so I feel like real estate is still out of my reach (for now) but I'm still trying to find out how to make this work because of the old saying

"If there is a will, there is a way!"

3.) I find myself jumping head first into things and failing hard and often to try to avoid my feelings of doubt and getting stuck in looking at just the numbers and what could happen.

I like to read and listen to books and podcast and found this forum from one of the books I got from audible "The audiobook on Rental Property Investing"

My current book list is:

Think and grow rich

Rich dad poor dad -what put the rental property inventing bug in me honestly.

Rental property inventing

How to win friends and influence people

The 25 cognitive biases

So with all that debrief on me, I would like to ask a question

If you had to start again, no money, no credit, nobody you know invests in real estate. What are some of the steps you would take if you had hindsight vision?

I look forward to your answers and taking your thoughts and molding them to my specific situation!

Also if anyone knows how to change my name on here it would be most appreciated:)

1. Bird dogging

2. Wholesaling

3. Lease Options

4. Subject Tos

5. Joint Ventures

@Jim Pellerin Thank you very much for the quick and easy info! I will look into those and find what one suits my needs!

If you had to start again, no money, no credit, nobody you know invests in real estate. What are some of the steps you would take if you had hindsight vision?

Step one for me would be to build credit. The way I accomplished this when I was 18 is, I walked into my bank (Wells Fargo) and told them I wanted to build my credit. They signed me up for a credit card for college students. I only purchased gas with it and paid it off in full every month. This alone gave me a good credit score after not much time. 

Step two for me would be to look for a better paying job. Continue to live with parents and save as much of your paycheck as possible. Save until you have enough money for a down payment and reserves for a 3.5% down FHA loan.

Step three would be to get your team together and begin looking at real estate. Look at small multifamily properties to house hack. Run the numbers over and over again until you find a deal you feel good about.

That is how I would start over from nothing. I wish you the best of luck in your journey and feel free to reach out to me if I can be of any help!

@Dillon Dale hey! Thanks for the advice I will take the advice and go into my bank and get a credit card and start on the credit. I also applied for several real estate jobs such as management and centry 21 realtor program where they help you pass the exam and give you a potential job after, making some reserves and down payment with that. Since it pays if not than almost double what I make now.

@Tristin Sellers you have to have something! There are a couple of things you need. Time, money, or credit. If you have one of those you could be valuable to someone. So don’t say you don’t have anything. If you don’t have anything you really can’t do anything. So what do you have?

@Grant Anderson I guess put that way I have plenty of time and getting credit after some research should not be that hard. Money could be my biggest problem but I'm looking into jobs in real estate to help sweeten the deal with more knowledge about something, like a management company and a realtor (c21 since they help you with the license). As stated above they pay double what I do now with enough hustle. So I can work on my credit and knowledge and give time for both.

@Tristin Sellers

Instead of a credit card, I suggest finding a local bank that will give you a $500 installment loan, put that money in savings, and then pay it back over time. That’s how I established my credit. It also allows you to build a relationship with a banker- tell them your goals and they will most likely help you- they might connect you to local investors that be mentors, ect.

Never stop studying- and know you can’t do it alone. It takes the right people in your corner pouring into you- learn from their mistakes not your own. Find out who does well with real estate in your market and ask to buy them coffee.

Find a local network group and start networking with investors. If you have anything of value, offer to work for them for free in exchange for learning. Sweep floors, inspect rentals, pick up materials, bird dog, or get their coffee every morning. If you hustle and show some promise, they will teach you things and help you find ways to make money.

Wholesaling or bird-dogging is probably your best option. Find out what the investors are looking for and then hustle to find the deals. Bring them the deal, they will reward you.

@Tristin Sellers if you want to increase your income, look into signing with a sales company like securities or pest control over the summer. You will learn how to sell (things and yourself) increase your confidence to talk to people and understand them (something you'll learn from how to win friends and influence people) and make serious if you're good to invest in a property. Robert Kiyosaki recommends getting a sales job. Good luck

@Tristin Sellers ...i hear that the best way to create instant credit is to convince a parent with good credit to cosign with you on a card. I hear this pretty much shoes their credit score as yours after.... I cannot confirm this though.

As to getting started, pick one thing and do it. You can't choose 5 things and try to make it happen. I started with tax liens. They were fairly easy to learn all the due diligence necessities. Now I say they are a cake walk. They allowed me to purchase in extremely cheap properties, filled paperwork with a lawyer and wait for a possible deed or redemption. I focused on properties in extreme distress And performed almost all the rehab work myself to build value. Finding someone who will finance you out of a property like this could be hard. I recommend trying to build a relationship with a credit union. They have slightly loser lending regulations and MIGHT even give you a credit 💳.

Any way you go, I wish you the best of luck.... this was just the way I got started

@Tristin Sellers

I was denied my first pre approval because I had no credit score. I went to the bank got a secured credit card which means you put up 500$ for a 500$ credit limit credit card then use it keep it around 50% and pay it off you get the f500 back after a year.

Step 2 get a better job . Become an agent is a good idea where I live if you have a car and can show up and work you could get a 12$ construction job in a day learn a skill and get paid double that

After you have a job money and credit house hack also being in indy you could be boots on the ground for out of state investors doing something ..looking at houses, taking pictures etc.

I know I've been looking for someone like you who would work for me and has the interest in learning . I'm sure you would have no problem finding someone to teach you especially if you can bring them a deal

@Tristin Sellers hey man, I’m 27 and just getting started in this so not too much to say on the real estate side, but maybe some life lessons. First, patience is a virtue. You’re so young right now, take the time to try new things, make mistakes, and learn from them. I’m not saying you’re egotistical, but always keep it in check and live beneath your means. Stay out of debt and start saving for that next opportunity. It sounds like to me you want to get into rehabbing and flipping. What’s your construction or building experience? I’d try to get in with a builder/remodeler to start learning the trade and they can tend to pay pretty well. You’ll learn skill sets that will help you cut cost in the beginning. Or, work for a building supply company; I’m biased here because I’m a manager at an 84 Lumber in Nashville. But it has been a tremendous experience in sales and management. Not only that, but I have a huge network now of contractors, and flippers that I talk to every day. So when I need to get some help on my place, now I know who to call and owes me some favors.

@Tristin Sellers What a fantastic time to get started! I wish I did when I was 21 or my 22yo heard anything I said about this kind of stuff.

As far as suggestions.....you can get a secured card pretty easily that you can use and pay off every month to get the ball rolling. Also focus everything you've got on building your income to get an emergency fund while you keep learning. I am working on my RE license that will give me income that I can filter into real estate and keep me plugged into the industry and can add value to partnerships when you dont have much cash to throw into a deal yet.

Most of all, keep pushing through those mistakes and "failures" and you will be just fine. I have experienced homelessness, bankruptcy, business closures and career changes. I promise that as long as you keep getting back up, there isn't much that you can't get through when you fall. Good luck!

To change your name, click on "profile" in the upper right hand of the page.  Click the pencil by your profile box - as if your were going to update it.  At or near the top of the page it will state that if you wish to change your name, you have to contact BP.  Good luck!

@Tristin Sellers you can probably contact BiggerPockets support and have it changed without an issue if you’re not able to change it through your profile page settings.

@Brock Richard I got the name changed :) It was shady geek now it's my name! Sorry about forgetting to update the forum!

@Tristin Sellers Oh okay, no problem man

@Tristin Sellers

Id look for work in construction. Save more than you think possible. Learn as much construction as possible, while studying real estate.

When my credit and savings allowed, id buy a duplex or triple and start my real estate journey from there.

Your construction background and connections will be tremendously helpful

Be willing to move somewhere that you can make a better wage and be open to new job opportunities. I agree with Bill, find a job in construction. Concrete work is difficult but surprisingly profitable if you own your own business or find people to do work on the side for.

Borrow money from your parents/extended family and get them to co-sign or obtain the loan for you. 

Once you get a property, don't bother moving into it unless you are getting an FHA loan. Stay with your parents as long as you can to save money and when you do eventually move out, house hack.

@Tristin Sellers

The most important thing to do first is billed your Credit. 680 middle score and up. Strive to get 720 and up. Start watching Wholesale Tradeline on YouTube. With that keep your utilization of your Credit under 30%, best under 7%. If you have a $1000 Credit card use no more than 299. Never ever pay late. Have 3 different Cards Accounts minimum. While doing that get a LLC to get business Credit using your personal. Watch building business Credit the right way. When ready multi units and multi family to make sure you have enough tenants to pay all the expenses and mortgage plus monthly profits. Get a management company to take care of the properties. This is a basic run down of how to start. You can contact me if you need more details.

@Tristin Sellers

Study the people you want to emulate. Talk with them. Learn from their mistakes so you don’t have to learn from your own. Try to work with or for them.

The strategies, logistics and mechanics will fall into place.

It’s who you know as much as what you know.

Good deals and ideas attract money.

For example get a credit card even if prepaid, get a loan and pay back, and also find someone with a high credit limit cc, that pays it off monthly, and that the credit card is more than 3 years old and have them make you an authorized signer-it will give you years of excellent credit on your credit report.

Etc, etc ,etc, for each of your goals.

@Tristin Sellers

I just sent you a connect request + private message.   @Dillon Dale  gave some really great advice that is right up the alley that I was going to recommend as well.       I know a kid (~mid 20s now) that was working at a car wash living with his parents when he first began his real estate investing career.    He is killing it now.    How did he do it?

Exactly the way he described. Built good credit. Saved up enough money from his car wash job to buy a 3.5% down FHA duplex, triplex, or quad. Lived in one unit and rented the other unit(s) out. If the numbers work ... you'll be able to live there for free. Take your living expenses and your income and do it again.

Once you have one two or three properties - you have enough experience to start talking with private lenders.    Private lenders are individuals that have funds in either retirement accounts or just liquid cash they are looking to invest for a better return.   You build a base of private lenders that trust you and you do right by them - the sky is the limit.

Cheers

Paul

@Tristin Sellers

Don’t ever close your first credit card. Your “credit history” is calculated by the oldest credit card you have. I made the mistake of closing the one I had when I was in my early 20s and as a result lost 8 years of credit history. Keep the line of credit open, you don’t have to use it but the length of time is important for your credit score.