Yankton, SD · Member since 2020 · 21 posts · 58 votes
Are there any “need to read” books that you would suggest I read before making my first deal? I have some time before my first deal as I’m only a senior in high school but Ive always taken interest in real estate and have found myself investing a lot of time into reading about the topic. I want to focus on single family and small multi family rental homes and I’m always open to learning more about rehab and flipping. Any suggestions would help me further my education and help me become a successful real estate investor. Thank you for your time!
Rental Property Investor · Sedona, AZ · Member since 2018 · 260 posts · 141 votes
6y
@Kincaid Ryken welcome to BiggerPockets! Judging by the number of recommendations here, you could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed at where to start.
Before recommending a specific book (which at this point would really say more about me than you), we should really be diving more into you and your strengths and weaknesses. Judging by the fact that you’ve already won a state-wide math competition, I’m guessing that math is both something you enjoy and something you’re good at.
In that case, you’re definitely in the right place.
But real estate is just as much a people game as it is a numbers game. You sound like a humble young man, which bodes well for this aspect as well. Putting together your "Core Four" team members (realtor, property manager, lender, and contractor) is important, since you can't possibly be good at all of those specialties right out of the gate. Realtors are good at marketing properties, PMs are good at tenant screening and selection, contractors are good at both making a property habitable / beautiful and at managing the costs of doing so, and lenders are good at helping you leverage scarce dollars to increase ROI.
Each of these may or may not be the bottleneck to you doing your first deal.
For instance, if your goal is to flip properties, you probably won’t need a property manager since you won’t be renting to tenants. If you’re a trust fund kid with access to ample cash, you probably don’t need to read up on hard money loans and private lending (unless you want to employ leverage, in which case I congratulate you on being wise beyond your years).
My point is that any discussion of which books you should read should be tailored to you and the areas you want to improve. Anyone trying to recommend a book without first getting to know your strengths and weaknesses is like a wholesaler trying to pitch a prospect on selling without first getting to know what’s motivating them to sell in the first place.
@Kincaid Ryken wow. It is so awesome you take action early. I would recommend the Art of the Deal. I currently read it and it had very great philosophy.
San Francisco, CA · Member since 2020 · 1 post · 0 votes
6y
@Kincaid Ryken
Impressive, congrats on getting a head start. The book recommendations on this thread are gold.
In addition to being a voracious reader, I recommend looking into careers that pay well out of undergrad, namely software engineering, investment banking, and management consulting. Build your financial foundation earlier and you could escape the rat race through REI before your thirties. Google pays their entry-level developers ~$150,000... Just some food for thought. Best of luck!
Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2020 · 25 posts · 14 votes
6y
@Kincaid Ryken
Anything that BiggerPockets publishes is great material! Brandon Tuner’s book on investing is a great and David Greene has amazing material once you get into a deeper dive. They have published a book on any topic, basically. Awesome you value you the learning aspect of getting started. I should have done that!
Developer · South West Florida · Member since 2020 · 74 posts · 53 votes
6y
@Kincaid Ryken
Congratulations on your early start! My recommendation would be to get your real estate license. Some investors will say it is not needed but it has helped me a lot. You will have access to the mls but also to Imapp (great free software to search public records, and create mailing lists such as deliquent property taxes, expired listings, absentee owners, ect). Read all books from Brandon Turner