My name is Keaton Smith and I’m a 20 year old college student in Mississippi. I plan on investing in rental property either in the next year or the next 2 years when I get out of college. I’m just trying to get some advice on when a good time to start and kinda get guided through the process of getting into investments. I’m thinking long term and thinking about the right way to approach rental property with an optimistic point of view. I don’t know a whole lot of people that have ever invested in rental property so I’m completely new to this
Rental Property Investor · Hendersonville, NC · Member since 2016 · 446 posts · 412 votes
5y
@Zachry Keaton Smith - Congrats. You've got the right mindset and attitude and came to the right place. Start by consuming as much knowledge as you can. I'd recommend 3 books to start: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller and The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner. Start listening to the BP Podcast as well. I don't think you're too young to get started, but you need to figure out what the best strategy is for your situation. Perhaps buying something near campus and renting by the room to your roommates?
First off, the best time to invest was almost always yesterday. The second best time is today.
Every day you are not investing, you are losing out on appreciation, tax benefits and cash flow.
I know how it feels to not know anyone who has invested in rental properties. It makes it seem more unattainable.
Here's a 6 step process I recommend:
1. Set your goals. Determine exactly what you are trying to accomplish.
2. Pick a Strategy and master it. You did this already by picking rental properties.
3. Pick a Location to invest in based on data. Most investors just buy where they live, or buy a place they think is good. That can be good or bad, instead, look up the data about multiple towns and pick the best ones.
4. Get your financing in check. This means you will call up a bank, get a preapproval, or get the action items you need to get a loan based on your situation
5. Analyze deals. Go look at properties, and run the numbers. Master this
6. Make Offers. You may have to make a few but eventually you will get one under contract!