Hi everybody!

I want to get started in real estate and believe I know how I want to start, but want to make sure all my i’s are dotted and t’s crossed.

I just started getting my military pension which more than covers all my living expenses. I want to build my savings faster and I believe house hacking will allow that to happen. I live in a college town, (PSU), but I'm a local. I believe that's a definite plus for hacking. Also I can get a VA loan, and because of my military service connection disability I believe I'm property tax exempt. With all that in mind, investing seems like a perfect adventure for me.

Does this seem like I’m thinking the right way about it? My credit score is low right now (540), I know that needs fixed and i am working on that now along with getting my education up. I’m addicted to BP real estate podcast, I’m going to my first meetup on the 9th, just did my first webinar with BP’s Brandon Turner last night, and read Rich Dad Poor Dad. BUT I NEED AN ACTUAL ACTION STEP to keep this momentum.

Any ideas on that, any people using the VA loan or know more about the property tax exemption thing that could tell me what I need to do next would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!!

The Newbie

Russ

Start here, @Russ Loven .

@Russ Loven Have you spoke with a mortgage broker? You probably do need to fix your credit a bit more but it costs you nothing to talk to a mortgage broker. They may even be able to give some advice on how to help you credit and provide you with a goal you need to get to before you can take the next step of getting pre-approved. Once you are pre-approved you can find a realtor maybe even one that specializes in VA loans I am sure there is one in your area. In the mean time keep learning. You can probably google the questions you have about the property tax exemption as a first step but don't just read one article read 3-4 or more to make sure there is no conflicting information and check when they were written to make sure they are up to date. You should also start looking into landlord rules in your state as you will be a landlord even if it is a house hack. Start looking into what it would take to get a good lease in your state. Do these things and you will be well positioned.

@Tyler Gibson thank you. That’s what I needed to know too. Who is the first person in the process to talk to. Mortgage Broker.

@Jaysen Medhurst thank you. Looking at this now

@Russ Loven The first step in Real Estate investing is educating yourself. I studied and learned for 3 years before I got my first property.

I'd highly recommend finding a mentor that you can help and he can teach you the ropes. Usually being a minority investor on a property and asking a lot of questions is a GREAT way to do this!

Grab my free e-book, it might be another helpful resource to learn from

@Dj Hume thank you!

@Russ Loven if you're already at the point that you know you want to house-hack, then maybe decide how you're going to do that (1 big house w/ roomates, a duplex, tri,quad etc.) then talk to a realtor and a lender to see what your options are. They will help you identify and acquire your first property. 

Keep in mind, property acquisition doesn't happen overnight, it's a process. Start looking now and keep soaking up information, working on your credit score and tackle individual obstacles as they come your way.

Thanks for your service!

@Kyle Shankin thank you. This is all exciting stuff for me! I understand it’s a process and that’s what I want to learn, the WHOLE process and get that momentum going!

Originally posted by @Russ Loven :

@Kyle Shankin thank you. This is all exciting stuff for me! I understand it’s a process and that’s what I want to learn, the WHOLE process and get that momentum going!

 Congrats and I wish you the BEST of luck!!

Also, thank you so much for your service!!

@Russ Loven

I’m in the same boat as you! (Except for the military part). I’ve become obsessed and I’ve been reading as many books as I can find (especially the BiggerPockets books), attending seminars, listening to podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. If you want any specific books or podcasts send me a private message and I’ll send you a list. I’ve also found some great websites for neighborhood/city/demographic analysis. I’ve been practicing deal analysis using the BP calculators as often as I can and I’ve found that too be very valuable. It’s especially nice that you can share your deal analysis with other more experiences BP members and get their take on it. Anyways, I wish you the best with whatever you decide to start with!

@Russ Loven First of all, thank you for your service! I am too also learning the basics and one of my top books that gives step by step fundamentals is BP “The book on Rental property investing”. 

Now after reading this book when I hear guest on Bp podcast, I understand the terms and lingo and see how much creative options you have with real estate. Which, at first can be soooo overwhelming.  

Let me know if you ever have questions as we both continue to go through our learning process! 

• @Russ Loven @Tyler Santos @Sheraton Jones  - Here is my "starting up" collection:
  
  Read http://greeneincome.com/index....
  Read Dave Ramsey book "The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness." and complete the baby steps there.
  Read Scott Trench’s book “Set for Life.”
  Finish the school and get your degree - you'll need it later, especially if it's business management.
  Get a job first where you have W2 income. Save 50 percent after tax income. Find deals in your market. Buy at discounted prices. Rehab. Rent. Refinance. Repeat.
  Work slave job with W-2 documentation for 2 years to gain favor with banks. Freddy/Fannie conventional loans want to see those 2 years. Keep same job no matter how crappy. It's only a stepping stone to break free.
  While you are slaving, eat ramen, roommate up or live in trailer, avoid Starbucks and tuck every dollar you can squeeze out into a bank account. need 20% down and money for materials. so for 80K home (trashed), you will want 35K banked to get started, just a rough idea.
  Then, get pre-approved. Buy property. Buy another and another until you have enough equity to refinance one for large amount of cash. Take cash and start BRRRRR process (read up all you can on BRRRRR). Give boss notice. (sorry about all the school time you invested). Your free. Done.
  Find a mentor to help with the process.
  Doing an internship with someone that is serious about their business, and then making sure that you're just as serious about their business as they are, is an awesome way to gain invaluable experience and support for yourself in the long run.
  Intern with a flipper. Intern with a wholesaler. Intern with Rental Investor. Then decide what you want to do long term. You have a long journey ahead.
  Aggressively save money and buy a Multifamily 2-4 units with 3.5% FHA loan and house hack. Find a duplex/triplex that needs a little work, live in one unit rent out the rest. Raise the rents to market values and rehab to force equity and sell in 2 years to avoid capital gains. If you decide to keep the property you can refinance into a conventional loan and hopefully you have enough equity to eliminate the PMI/MIP. Then move out and repeat the process. Repeat. Do this four or five times and you'll never have to work again if you choose. [Beware = https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/house-hacking-drawbacks/]
  I would look for a 2-4 unit too house hack. You can get into these with 3.5% down for an owner occupied FHA loan. Great way to get started FHA makes sure its a cash flowing deal before they allow you to buy. And house hacking allows you to make a little off the property, and seriously subsidize your rent. And lastly, you gotta live like a college kid. Rent out rooms, go the cheap route. Having those cheap expenses will really catapult you forward financially!
  Income from RE investing is slow and boring (in a good way). The RE investing that makes fast money is not really “investing” - it’s a self-employed RE business. For example, flipping, deal finding, wholesaling, syndicating.
  Boosting your credit score is the no-brainer investment. Go on My Fico and learn the credit hacks. Do them!!!
  [Biggerpockets] is notorious for the no and no money down niche, but you really need to have a good financial runway prior to investing otherwise you will lose your bottom when it goes sideways.
  Read all the usual books. But to be honest with you, If you do not learn some construction skills, your progress will be a lot slower as contractors will be raking in the majority of your profits.
  Get a pro account on this site so you can access the PRO only blogs and avoid all the goofy stuff that can confuse you sometimes.
  Take NO advice from salesmen such as realtors/brokers. Not because they are wrong, but because they are salesmen.
  Take NO advice from anyone who does not own more real estate than you do. Why chance it.
  Just keep reading, saving, researching your target area. Know the rents! Know the values.
  Do all this and you'll be on a very good path. Just remember, there are no secrets and shortcuts in real estate investing, just slow and steady progress. You want fast, you are closer to speculating than investing and your risk skyrockets​.
  "Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge is power, but also a burden, leading to analysis paralysis. The cure to both - the 4 ions: education, action, progress(ion), not perfection".
  
  Learn to use BP to its whole potential:
  Subscribe to BP blog and podcasts and start reading posts and listening to their podcasts collection.
  Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/m...
  Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/a...
  Read Beginner’s Guide: Real-estate-investing (http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing)
  + Actionable-steps-to- reach-investing-goals (https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/12/17/actionable-steps-reach-investing-goals)
  
  You can find a glossary of some acronyms here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  
  You might also want to read: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide - https://assets2.biggerpockets....
  ...actually the entire section on Guides - https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  
  BP has a whole section dedicated to education and starting up - https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  
  Get busy with the entire Education section on BP:
  property-types (https://www.biggerpockets.com/hubs/property-types)
  finance (https://www.biggerpockets.com/hubs/finance)
  strategy (https://www.biggerpockets.com/hubs/strategy)
  analyze-deals (https://www.biggerpockets.com/hubs/finding-deals/analyze-deals)
  property-management (https://www.biggerpockets.com/hubs/property-management) (including TENANTS MAINTENANCE)
  business-operations (https://www.biggerpockets.com/hubs/business-operations) (and the sub section on REAL ESTATE MARKETING TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY TAXES & ACCOUNTING LEGAL TEAM)
  
  One way or another you will pay your "real estate tuition" - either in time, effort or money. My suggestion - better in time and effort, and money (through the mistakes you going to make), than paying a guru.
  
  Between BP and books and all the other podcasts and blogs available for free, you shouldn't need any paid training - don't fall for that. Just find a good mentor to shadow, someone willing to impart from his/her experience, take them to lunch and make yourself useful to them, and they will teach you.
  
  Here some recent articles good for starters:
  - one to raise you up: 3-important-questions-starting-investing-real-estate https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - one to bring you back down to earth: dont-just-dabble-in-real-estate-investing https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - one in the middle: cheap-free-steps-today-pro https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - 10-lethal-mistakes-avoid-real-estate-investment https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - telltale-signs-youre-not-ready-to-invest https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - vital-importance-mentor https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - get-ready-to-invest https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - get-your-head-in-the-game https://royallegalsolutions.co...
  
  You might want to read and follow these threads:
  advice-to-your-20-year-old-self https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  financial-advise-for-getting-started https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  how-to-prepare-for-a-career-as-a-flipper https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  new-to-wholesale-real-estate https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  what-is-the-best-re-related-9-to-5-job https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  
  Bonus for the weekend, my collection for starters (read the comments too, and then if you like the author, go check out what else they wrote):
  - stages-of-investing https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - newbies-learn-real-estate-investing https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - 5-ways-to-know-youre-not-ready-to-invest https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - ideal-vs-desperate-investor https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - how-much-to-offer-property https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - hazardous-attitudes-of-investors https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - 21-traits-scammy-real-estate-investment-guru https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - youre-not-cut-out-to-be-real-estate-investor https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - questions-new-investors-should-ask https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - real-estate-books-beginner-investors https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  - what-separates-those-who-succeed-from-those-who-fail https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
  
  If that's not enough, ping me and I'll give you a whole collection of blogs and podcasts to follow.
  
  Bonus 2:
  1) Read at least one hour per day every single day.
  2) Remember the quote by Jim Rohn "You are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with."
  3) Check for toilet paper before sitting down.

"Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge is power, but also a burden, leading to analysis paralysis. The cure to both - the 4 ions: education, action, progress(ion), not perfection".

@Costin I.

Thank you so much, Costin! This may be the most helpful and thorough post I’ve ever read! Plus it was reading Dave Ramsey’s Total money Makeover that started me on this journey into real estate.