How to get started

Question

I am looking to get into real estate but I am not exactly sure how to. I am 22yr old I have no experience when it comes to stuff like this so I'm trying to learn. If you anyone can help me with giving me advice how to get started or just let me ask questions it would be much appreciated!

Isaac Demby-Lamas · Answer

@Robert Ellis thank you for taking the time to respond. I always been think about what can I do to set me up for the future so I can retire early. I'm currently active duty in the military so I get a VA loan and I been asking people how to take advantage of it. A lot of people recommended getting in to real estate and using that VA loan so I been doing some reasearch. In my eyes I think it would be a waste not to take advantage of that VA benefit. I'm just not sure how to exactly get started.

Robert Ellis · Answer

The part that stood out to me was that you're asking how to learn, not how to buy something as fast as possible.

At 22, it's easy to feel like you're behind because you see people online talking about their tenth rental or their latest flip. In reality, you're asking the kinds of questions that can save you from making an expensive first mistake. There's a big difference between being eager and being in a hurry.

One thing that helped me was looking at real listings before I had any intention of buying. After you've analyzed enough properties, you start to notice patterns in what makes a deal attractive versus what just looks exciting at first glance. That confidence comes from repetition more than reading another book.

I'm curious—what made real estate catch your interest in the first place? Was there a particular strategy or someone's story that made you want to get started?

Mohammed Rahman · Answer

Great time to start at 22, you’ve got a lot of runway.

The first thing I’d focus on is getting clear on how you want to get into real estate, because there are a few different paths. You can start as an investor (buying a property), get into the business side (agent, leasing, property management), or start by learning the fundamentals while saving capital for your first deal.

If your goal is investing, I’d start by learning basic deal analysis first, things like rent vs mortgage, cash flow, taxes, insurance, and maintenance. Don’t worry about buying right away, just get comfortable running numbers and understanding what actually makes a deal work.

At the same time, try to get exposure to real transactions. That could be following local listings, talking to agents, or even shadowing someone if possible. Real estate is very learn-by-doing.

And honestly, your first goal doesn’t need to be “buy a property immediately,” it should be “avoid buying a bad property.”

If you want, feel free to ask specific questions as you go. My DMs are always open if you ever want to bounce around ideas!

Wale Lawal · Answer

@Isaac Demby-Lamas

Age 22 can be viewed as an opportunity for you because your greatest advantage is time. I would recommend starting with deal analysis and talking with local investors with a goal of purchasing one property. A deal can teach you more than several months of reading books on real estate investing.

Good luck!

Isaac Demby-Lamas · Answer

@Wale Lawal thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. I started watching videos on deal analysis thank you for the advice!

Isaac Demby-Lamas · Answer

@Aaron Zimmerman thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. What is house hack? Currently I'm active duty in the military so I have a steady income, for my savings I have a little over $10k.

Aaron Zimmerman · Answer

House hack would be my general suggestion. What does your income and savings look like?

Isaac Demby-Lamas · Answer

@Jimmy Lieu Thank you for taking the time to answer my question! Do you have any recommendations on how to learn to analyze properties, understand finance options and calculate cash flow, also what exactly is house hacking?

Nick Sansivero · Answer

Hi Isaac, here's a practical answer - just consume as much content as you can on RE investing, ideally books (there's some good ones on BP), or even start with videos/podcasts. Then you'll want to figure out a strategy/criteria (buy and hold, flips, short-term rentals like airbnb, multi-family vs single-family, house hacking, etc..). Once you decide your strategy and narrow down a few markets, go on Zillow and pull up properties and practice running numbers (use free deal calculators) until you feel confident, then start looking for actual deals