I’m looking to start out in Real Estate- where to begin?

Question

Hi team- I’m looking to break into commercial / multi family real estate. Is it better to feed out brokers to secure a loan, or gain experience at a commercial real estate firm and invest while in the firm?

Any help would be great!

Joshua Davies · Answer

@Paul Sabato Welcome to the BiggerPockets forum!

First off, what is your current experience/education level with real estate in general? If you are a true beginner, the first thing I would do is get educated. By this I mean reading as many REI books as you can, listening to as many podcasts as you can, and attending as many local meet ups as you can.

By educating yourself, you will be able to have a high level conversation with fellow investors and this can definitely help when you lack experience.

In my experience, even if you don't have the experience/capital to begin investing, fellow investors will be willing to help/mentor you if you show a passion for the industry and prove that you are willing to learn as much as you possibly can.

With that being said, if you are already involved in the real estate industry, just not multi-family I would still suggest to educate yourself as much as possible (as multi-family is a whole different ball game), however I would look to leveraging and extending my existing network. There will be at least a couple of people in your current network that knows of somebody that has invested in multi-family/commercial real estate. Networking and relationship building are the key to this industry and never under estimate the value of relationships. I have been in the industry a little while now and relationships can often count for more than experience.

Finally, if you do one thing, read "Best Ever Apartment Syndication Book" by @Joe Fairless

Good luck and don't hesitate to reach out to anyone on the forum!

John Fortes · Answer

Steps to take

1. Educate yourself! This is going to be what you do for the rest of your life as you constantly tweak and insert what you learned into action.

2. Analyze as many deals as possible. Keep reviewing and learning how to spot a good deal from a bad deal.

3. Connect with like minded people.

4. Talk about real estate! Be vocal and intentional with your conversations. You never know who is interested and needs help. Since you have educated yourself and analyzed deals, great chance to partner with a money partner on that front.

5. Raise money for your own deals.

6. Find deals for others. Also known as bird dogging.

7. Invest in someone else's deal or syndication. Learn from the process and get involved someway, somehow.

8. Find a mentor and volunteer to help them for free. Add value to someone else for free education and building a friendship/relationship.

9. Write a blog, start a podcast, start a YouTube channel, or do all 3.

10. Be active on your social media platforms and create your own brand.

These are not step by step processes. Just guidelines to help you get to your end goal. 1, 2, and 3 are crucial but everything else tackle it in your own way and process. Just do it. Please feel free to reach out. Hope this helps, good luck, and God bless!

Paul Sabato · Answer

@Joshua Davies thanks josh! That’s super helpful and I will be checking out that book for sure. I’m a true beginner and have no experience in the real estate industry, however my grandfather used to own apartments in Jersey City then sold them. That has peaked my interest and the more I read and educate myself, the more I truly love the industry. I would love to attend some meet ups and build my network. Do you have any suggestions on which would be best to attend in the NYC/NJ area? Also any beginner tips on the most efficient way to raise capital and secure a loan interest rate loan?

Thanks again and I’m super excited to be here!

Paul Sabato · Answer

@Alina Trigub thanks for this! I’m in sales in the HR industry as we speak. I will also be checking out those meet ups as well! Ideally I’m looking to own a 5-10 unit apartment and rent it out. Really my question is how can I balance a full time job and own several units in one building? What’s the most efficient  way to raise capital? How to secure a loan at the lowest interest rates possible? Very 101 level stuff. Thanks again!

Alina Trigub · Answer

@Paul Sabato

Welcome to BP community! While education is the Key as most people stated here, how you gain it depends on you and your goals. You haven't mentioned what you're doing now. So depending on your current job situation/role in your W-2 if applies, it may or may not make sense to work for a commercial RE firm or a brokerage.

So elaborate on that to get a more specific guidance.

Also, we run REI meetups in NYC and Northern NJ - you're welcome to join us. More details under my profile.

Best!

Luke Miller · Answer

@Paul Sabato  I have no idea what you mean by "feed out brokers to secure a loan". Can you explain?

Working for a commercial real estate firm means tons of cold-calling, sales, and working your way up. Be prepared for starting on the commercial leasing side too.

Greg Dickerson · Answer

Learn everything you can about commercial real estate if that’s the niche you want to be in. Study deals on LoopNet,  it’s not always the best place to find deals but  You can learn a lot about real estate by looking at properties for sale in reading the offering memorandums.You need to know types of property, class of property, CAP Rates , operating expenses, lease rates, rental rates, etc.

The best way to get started fast is to partner with somebody, work for somebody, or find a mentor.

I’m looking to start out in Real Estate- where to begin?

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