How did you get started? Advice to newbies!
Investor · Germany · Member since 2021 · 23 posts · 33 votes
How did you get started? Advice to newbies!
Most Popular Reply
Flipper/Rehabber · Albany · Member since 2022 · 1 post · 12 votes
4yThis is just a tip, select a market you want to invest in, call it your nitch. Zipcodes could make it easier to remember especially if it's out of state.
Start window shopping in the price range you looking for, by setting alerts on the MLS. Go to realtor.com or zillow.com and save the properties in your favorite this way you get daily or weekly alerts for what properties are available and if your price range is realistic or what are their conditions.
Find ways to finance now. If you have money save, borrowing from your 401k, friends or family or even your credit cards, but just be realistic with yourself if you can handle it.
After your window shopping you will get a fair idea of the market prices in your location and at time on realtor.com you see in the neighborhood section what other house are selling around the location.
The rest of everything is all up to you taking the leap of faith, being determined to get it done during the process and being consistent. Seek advice when necessary. Always but title insurance and casualty insurance to protect yourself and your asset.
Best of Luck.
Prime yourself with the market
54 Replies
- Real Estate Agent · Ormond Beach, FL · Member since 2020 · 20 posts · 22 votes4y
Hi Shannon! I am still a newbie, started 2 years ago. I had some money saved up so after practicing running numbers on houses on zillow/realtor (Cash on Cash return) that I was pleased with, I just started making offers out there. Many offers rejected but then eventually with much patience, an offer finally was accepted. I learned so much just dealing with lenders, realtor, and contractors. You can only learn so much through books and podcasts, which I love them all and have most of those books you mentioned. You learn even more, just another level, once you go out and start applying what you learn. My first property was a duplex in Colorado Springs. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Network with people, join REI groups in your area. Here's a video from Brandon Turner which was very helpful. Hope this helps!
- Flipper/Rehabber · Albany · Member since 2022 · 1 post · 12 votes4y
This is just a tip, select a market you want to invest in, call it your nitch. Zipcodes could make it easier to remember especially if it's out of state.
Start window shopping in the price range you looking for, by setting alerts on the MLS. Go to realtor.com or zillow.com and save the properties in your favorite this way you get daily or weekly alerts for what properties are available and if your price range is realistic or what are their conditions.Find ways to finance now. If you have money save, borrowing from your 401k, friends or family or even your credit cards, but just be realistic with yourself if you can handle it.
After your window shopping you will get a fair idea of the market prices in your location and at time on realtor.com you see in the neighborhood section what other house are selling around the location.
The rest of everything is all up to you taking the leap of faith, being determined to get it done during the process and being consistent. Seek advice when necessary. Always but title insurance and casualty insurance to protect yourself and your asset.
Best of Luck.
Prime yourself with the market
- 4yTheresa HarrisPro MemberMember since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
Be realistic with yourself and know your risk tolerance and time you have to spend on this.
Know how much you have for a down payment and how much you can borrow.
I'd suggest investing locally if you can (some people live in areas where the numbers don't make sense to do that). Are you able to manage it yourself or do you need a property manager? If the latter, how much will that cost.
Long term rentals are generally less work and lower risk than short term rentals and flips.
Look for houses (or duplexes or houses with legal suites). they have a higher entry point than condos, but you get a better return. Avoid places with HOA.
Do not buy the cheapest house. Buy in a good area and starter type home. The type of house you buy and the condition of it when you rent it will determine the type of tenant you attract.
Get a good realtor who is used to working with investors. They should have an idea of what places will rent for, so between the two of you you can only look at places that make sense financially as a rental.
- Investor · Germany · Member since 2021 · 23 posts · 33 votes4y
Quote from @Mike Gonzalez:
Hi Shannon! I am still a newbie, started 2 years ago. I had some money saved up so after practicing running numbers on houses on zillow/realtor (Cash on Cash return) that I was pleased with, I just started making offers out there. Many offers rejected but then eventually with much patience, an offer finally was accepted. I learned so much just dealing with lenders, realtor, and contractors. You can only learn so much through books and podcasts, which I love them all and have most of those books you mentioned. You learn even more, just another level, once you go out and start applying what you learn. My first property was a duplex in Colorado Springs. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Network with people, join REI groups in your area. Here's a video from Brandon Turner which was very helpful. Hope this helps!
Mike,
Thank you so much for your response and for speaking of patience. Sometimes I struggle with wanting to just dive in, and your story gives me hope that if I wait for the right catch to come along, it will. You are absolutely right that there is so much value in putting yourself out there to get the experience, learning and not applying the knowledge learned breeds stagnation. I will definitely take all of your advice of practicing my numbers, networking and getting into the right communities. Congratulations on your first multi-family. I wish you an abundance of success. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to share your experience with me.
- Shannon
- Investor · Germany · Member since 2021 · 23 posts · 33 votes4y
Quote from @Nii N Nortey:
This is just a tip, select a market you want to invest in, call it your nitch. Zipcodes could make it easier to remember especially if it's out of state.
Start window shopping in the price range you looking for, by setting alerts on the MLS. Go to realtor.com or zillow.com and save the properties in your favorite this way you get daily or weekly alerts for what properties are available and if your price range is realistic or what are their conditions.Find ways to finance now. If you have money save, borrowing from your 401k, friends or family or even your credit cards, but just be realistic with yourself if you can handle it.
After your window shopping you will get a fair idea of the market prices in your location and at time on realtor.com you see in the neighborhood section what other house are selling around the location.
The rest of everything is all up to you taking the leap of faith, being determined to get it done during the process and being consistent. Seek advice when necessary. Always but title insurance and casualty insurance to protect yourself and your asset.
Best of Luck.
Prime yourself with the market
Nii N Nortey,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge. I think finding your nitch is definitely the most important part of the journey, yet the most difficult. Quite some time ago, I heard in an Investing Podcast to "Make a Choice and Love your Choice". I think this applies implicitly to finding your location. There is something to offer in almost every market, and I need to find the one that matches up with my long term goal. Currently, my eyes are set on Texas, and I hope to invest near major Military post (due to familiarity). I love your advice of "window shopping", and I will be making that a top priority of mine throughout the rest of this month.
Thank you again for all of your encouraging words and amazing advice. I wish you all the best in your journey.
- Shannon
- Investor · Germany · Member since 2021 · 23 posts · 33 votes4y
Quote from @Theresa Harris:
Be realistic with yourself and know your risk tolerance and time you have to spend on this.
Know how much you have for a down payment and how much you can borrow.
I'd suggest investing locally if you can (some people live in areas where the numbers don't make sense to do that). Are you able to manage it yourself or do you need a property manager? If the latter, how much will that cost.
Long term rentals are generally less work and lower risk than short term rentals and flips.
Look for houses (or duplexes or houses with legal suites). they have a higher entry point than condos, but you get a better return. Avoid places with HOA.
Do not buy the cheapest house. Buy in a good area and starter type home. The type of house you buy and the condition of it when you rent it will determine the type of tenant you attract.
Get a good realtor who is used to working with investors. They should have an idea of what places will rent for, so between the two of you you can only look at places that make sense financially as a rental.
Teresa Harris,
Thank you so much for taking the time out to share your knowledge. You bring up several amazing points! The first being to be realistic and know my risk tolerance. I need to make sure I don't get too excited on what appears to be glitter and gold.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to invest locally, as I live oversees. So I started with my home state and the people who I have spent time building connections with around where I once lived. I definitely want to go multifamily (starting with a duplex, then fourplex, etc). I, personally, don't want to waste too much time with single family homes.
Thank you so much for the reminder of HOA areas. I think too often it's easy to get swept up by what seems like a "great deal", that you gloss over the details. As Brandon Turner mentions, there is nothing like the miscalculation on major things like property taxes, structural damage or hidden fees and your cash flow is net negative for the entire year.
Again, thank you so much for sharing your advice. I definitely will keep everything you said tucked in my brain as I move through this process. Wishing you nothing but the best on your journey.
- Shannon
- Flipper/Rehabber · Phoenix Arizona · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 686 votes4y
Stay local.
Most important is the Real Estate Agent. I would talk to three brokers of the largest firms .
Sometimes you could walk into the real estate office and ask the receptionist who are the top agents also.
Generally one of them may even be in their office lining up the days work.
Tell the broker what your needs are and tell him you would like to interview his top agents.
The agents should be available to meet with you within 36 hours. Answer their phone or return a text within 90 minuets during day light hours. These agents take their business to the next level.
Sit down with the agent and they should handle the rest.
Work on your down payment, credit rating, and ways to land and tie down property. Fixer uppers are not as desirable to buyers so ask the agent who the best contractors are. If the agent does not know this then maybe you need to get another agent.
Attend your local Real Estate meetings and get to know people. Take your God given gifts and use them.
Good luck and use that smile and kind heart and use it to your ability.
- Real Estate Agent · Arlington, TX · Member since 2019 · 47 posts · 64 votes4y
Welcome to the Real Estate investing world @Shannon Glanton. I started investing in SF Buy and Holds and continue to invest in Single Family Buy and Holds. Single Family does have a lower barrier to entry meaning there is a lot more competition, but it is still possible to find deals. You just have to stick with it and love it like everyone has been mentioning. To taking opportunities!
- Investor · San Rafael · Member since 2020 · 376 posts · 274 votes4y
Welcome @Shannon Glanton and congratulations on taking the first step on this amazing journey!
I still remember when we were getting started!
Please feel free to DM me, happy to help provide all the tools, tips, tricks, resources, checklists, etc we used when starting. We recommend this stuff a lot to people getting started and it is always well received.
We put aside a few hours a week to help people at “level one”, as you say, so please reach out!
Congratulations again!
- Investor · Corpus Christi, TX · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes4y
1. Never risk more money than you can lose without losing sleep.
2. Your most important asset will be your relationships. Build them daily. With the right relationships you'll have everything you need to to succeed...money, skills, knowledge, advice, etc.
3. Jumping into investing (as so many advice others to do) is the worst advice you'll ever get. That is no way to start a business, much less a self-sustaining, long term business. Education is a must. Learning is a daily activity. Spend at least 3 hours per day (or night) learning about one aspect of investing until you have a solid understanding of that strategy.
4. Understand that there are more scammers in this industry than you could ever imagine...many of them are ready to take your money because they are good at detecting those who don't know what they don't know. Trust must be earned and you can't buy it. Social media is chocked full of pretenders...believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. If someone you're considering working with makes a claim, they should be able to back it up. If they can't or won't, it's time to move on.
5. You'll need time AND money when starting business. Marketing is essential and it's only purpose is to create a phone call, text, email or form fill (leads). Leads are your lifeblood of a business. Treat them like gold...they're expensive so don't waste a single one.
The one thing I regret in my business is not understanding early on the power of relational capital. I wanted to build a business on my own without any help from others. I missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars because of it. Fortunately, I hired a coach who put me on the right path and to this day I still focus on building relationships. The lifetime value of the right relationships can't be overlooked.
- Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 975 votes4y
@Shannon Glanton Welcome to Bigger Pockets! I think house-hacking is a great place to start. You're able to get favorable financing terms since its a primary residence, you could get some landlording experience by renting out the other units or other rooms, all while continuing to educate yourself on real estate and figuring out what you want your long-term strategy to be!
Good luck and keep us updated on your progress!
- Real Estate Agent · Sisters, OR · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes4y
The most bestest, safest, most practical way to get started in real estate investing is to house hack. I was going over this with an ambitious young man just the other day. If instead of renting an apartment with his wife for 1800 a month (about 21600 a year). He bought a 700k duplex and they moved in one side they could hopefully cut their expenses down to 800 a month (9600 a year), if they purchased with an FHA 3.5% down we estimated with current interest rate they would pay off 13k in principle the first year, then we speculated that our market would increase 5% the first year which is (700k*5%= 35k). So the guy goes from negative 21,600 paying rent to positive 38k+ their wealth increase by 60k year one.
What if you never did anything except move into a new duplex each year for 5-10 years they will have bought $3.5-7 million in real estate and they will have many more options for their and their kids life. Their problems will go from "the boss is making me work this weekend" to "how do make sure our kids don't get to spoiled."
Good luck to you I hope you kill it!
- Investor · Nyack, NY · Member since 2020 · 34 posts · 36 votes4y
@Shannon Glanton hey! I'm still a newbie just closed on my first property and tbh… I went the turnkey route. I've been in analysis paralysis for 2+ years and I felt like no matter how many podcasts I listened to or read, it would never be enough to pull the trigger. I would want to flip houses but for some reason I can't find the courage to try that. I'll eventually try BRRRR a house or so and see if I can actually do it but turnkey felt the easiest way for me to get into rei.
I do feel like I paid a premium for a property, but atleast it was rehabbed for me, property management is set up as well as a tenant. Putting down 20% sucks when you hear stories of people putting in little to nothing but we all gotta go through different hoops to get in.
And this being my first property, I don’t expect it to be the most amazing cash flow or deal but it did open the door for me to do more as well as all the tax benefits I’ll be able to take advantage of as well.
- Real Estate Agent · Ormond Beach, FL · Member since 2020 · 20 posts · 22 votes4y
@Shannon Glanton no problem, and thank you! Reach out if you need anything. The BP community is a great resource and many investors willing to help. You’re going to do well and excited for your journey. It may seem overwhelming but taking it one day at a time and stay hungry.
- Specialist · Winter Springs, FL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 747 votes4y
I'd look for and join a real estate investor's group in your area. In my opinion that is the best and cheapest way to learn the in's and out's of investing in your market and perhaps find other's to bounce ideas off of.
- Flipper/Rehabber · Rochester, NY · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes4y
@Shannon Glanton I started in 2008. I had some money saved, had a HELOC, attended a local REIA group, started networking, found out I could flip rentals by buying a non-performing or under-performing rental, fixing it up, etc, and selling it to a buy-and-hold investor. The price points in my city were very doable for this and I figured, worst case scenario, I'd have a rental that had pretty good returns. It turns out I bought just before the bottom dropped out and I did end up holding the rental. I never wanted to be a landlord. I wanted to flip.
Well, here it is 14 years later and I've got about 40 doors and have flipped or otherwise been in maybe 50 other deals.
As @Mike Gonzalez said, you can only learn so much from books, podcasts, etc. While forums are even better, nothing beats talking with other investors and asking them this question. Hear how they got started, why they chose the particular path they are now in, the pros and cons, etc. You'll find you start to resonate with some strategies and not with others and it'll help you decide what you want to start with. But like me, from there it might branch out into other things as well.
- Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2016 · 349 posts · 418 votes4y
Ok, the beginning of my "journey" was as follows:
It started in pre-internet days. I was 22 years old and ~1 year out of college. Full of ambition & broke as hell, a RE investment book caught my eye at a used book store. I couldn't read it fast enough. Then I promptly read all the real estate books I could get my hands on from all the public libraries in my county. Then I decided to become a realtor to 1) help learn the transaction process 2) give me access to the MLS and 3) I hated my job at the time so I needed new one anyway.
Within 6 months, I bought 3 properties, all no money down. I quickly got tenants in each property after closing, but I was over-leveraged and had negative cash flow. I had no reserves either. And as a new realtor in a horrible market, my "employment" income was barely enough for me to live on, let alone feed the alligators. I had made serious errors that were not recoverable and was forced to dump all three properties within 18 months.
Please don't do what I did.
- Real Estate Agent · Sisters, OR · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes4y
Started in 2008 that is Impeccable timing,
- Lender · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2015 · 482 posts · 316 votes4y
@Shannon Glanton. All of these are good tips.
Imo, look at a house / multi you would want in the market you want, and then look on CL to see if you can rent it for the prices being advertised, or that you would raise rent to. Or see if you rehabbed it, what kind of return would you get. I look for better return than other investments (see below).
Every investor has their own path. Some want lots of doors and are happy with $100 profit each. Some want lots of profit each property.
I, like another investor, never chose to be a landlord, but through life choices became one. LTR never seemed to pencil out, until I truly understood depreciation and segregated costs, then the light bulb went on. And how did I finally learn? An investor I know shared his tax return with me.
I learned that being an investor is a mindset, you are a business owner, so you should care about how much profit you can earn. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, or to protect your assets. Sometimes there is just the cost of doing business. But, don't spend money to just spend money. Do NOT focus on ownership, but focus on profit or on value. So many people have so much pride in 10, 20, 50, 100 doors. I look at each asset, if it is not going to perform positively then maybe get rid of it, and invest in something else.
Since you are overseas, find a Realtor that you like, that thinks like you, that will tell you the bad news, and ok with you walking away from deals that are bad. There are few out there, because most just want to "close the deal", any deal, to get paid. Most treat it as a job, not as a business. How? Find a property you like and ask 3 different Realtors the same questions about it. When an investor tells me, they want someone busy, I decline their business - I am not looking for more transactions. I am looking to help people.
It is all about relationships, I think pretty old school. I know I am not the Realtor for everyone, I have my own style. I care more about the relationship than the money I might gain. I dislike spending my clients money just for the sake of it. I don't have favorite contractors, but there are a few contractors I invite to bid on projects regularly since I always obtain at least two bids for my clients. Just by fluke, after a year as a Realtor, I found a roofer who routinely bids 35%-50% less on projects than his competitors. I invite him to bid on a lot lol. I find them through the bidding process.
When investors tell me they want me to jump through all these hoops to "win their business", I tell them to go find someone else. I don't need their business that badly to be chewed up and spit out. I use contracts and clients must agree to use only me. I am investing time, energy, and money, so I expect the same. But if someone wants out of contract, I let them go. Better to part as friends than enemies.
Lol, I had a Buyer client recently that thanked me profusely that I didn't dump him because he saw 20 properties, and tried to put offers on a few, although through that process found out what he really didn't have financing in place to buy at all. Six to 12 months from now, he'll be back. I had another Buyer where we looked for 3 months, got 1/2 way through a purchase and wanted out. We did that, then she told me she found out her employer offered a 5% discount on a home and would pay closing costs. She asked me what to do? I told her, it was me I would take the employer deal. She did, and I "lost" that commission, but I received a referral from her a few months later. I got a Seller recently from a referral, who said her family wanted her to use another Realtor, but she wanted to use me, because she knew I would protect her money and not give her house away by having it sell in a few days. I laugh when I see that. Someone recently asked me how to price a home, to which I responded, "Put a high enough price on it to have it sit out there at least a whole weekend, preferrably a week. If you sell it in a day, or before a whole weekend, you'll know you left money on the table." I found out he already listed and got an offer for list price in 1 day. I told him, "Good thing you didn't price it higher to have it sit a week or so, who needs $10k more?" He chose a busy that convinced him to give it away. Relationships!
Look for any way to make more money for more income streams. More legs on a chair. While you search for a deal, maybe you invest money in stocks to make your money grow? People cringe when I say that lol, but they don't give me so much grief when they find out I beat the S&P. Some weeks I lose, some weeks I gain, but I gain more than I lose. Is it harder in a bear market? Yes, but still doable.
In the end, just get in the game, some how, some way. Most people learn fastest when they have their own money invested.
- 4yTaylor DaschBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Temple, TX · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 700 votes
Hey Shannon, I got started just by moving out of my primary residence and renting it out. However, In my mind, I truly got started after reading rich dad poor dad. I sold the house that I was living in and down sized significantly. I refinanced my first primary residence and purchased two properties - one LTR and one STR. Then while prospecting for listings - door knocking - I came across a vacant property and it turned out to be a killer deal. I paid him quite a bit more than what he wanted. This will be my next project and I am using hard money for it. All of this happened within the past year because I'm familiar with my market and am pretty comfortable with rehab costs, ARV, and rental rates for Temple, TX. So my advice for everyone is to analyze deals daily - you will find that you can know just about what any property will rent for or sell for without having to do any analyzing at all, this puts you ahead of other investors which is crucial in this crazy market!
Taylor Dasch | EG Realty560 Reviews - Investor · Germany · Member since 2021 · 23 posts · 33 votes4y
Quote from @David Avery:
Stay local.
Most important is the Real Estate Agent. I would talk to three brokers of the largest firms .
Sometimes you could walk into the real estate office and ask the receptionist who are the top agents also.
Generally one of them may even be in their office lining up the days work.
Tell the broker what your needs are and tell him you would like to interview his top agents.
The agents should be available to meet with you within 36 hours. Answer their phone or return a text within 90 minuets during day light hours. These agents take their business to the next level.
Sit down with the agent and they should handle the rest.
Work on your down payment, credit rating, and ways to land and tie down property. Fixer uppers are not as desirable to buyers so ask the agent who the best contractors are. If the agent does not know this then maybe you need to get another agent.
Attend your local Real Estate meetings and get to know people. Take your God given gifts and use them.
Good luck and use that smile and kind heart and use it to your ability.
David,
Thank you so much for taking the time out to share your advice and experience. You bring up so many amazing points. I am working on everything you listed. I think what is most intimidating is the fixer upper, especially when you know have zero knowledge on construction. It makes it hard to guesstimate rehab cost. Trying to get better with recognizing common themes.
Again, thank you so very much for sharing your advice. Wishing you all the success along your journey.
- Shannon
- Investor · Germany · Member since 2021 · 23 posts · 33 votes4y
Quote from @Nathan Murith:
Welcome @Shannon Glanton and congratulations on taking the first step on this amazing journey!
I still remember when we were getting started!
Please feel free to DM me, happy to help provide all the tools, tips, tricks, resources, checklists, etc we used when starting. We recommend this stuff a lot to people getting started and it is always well received.
We put aside a few hours a week to help people at “level one”, as you say, so please reach out!
Congratulations again!
Nathan,
Thank you so much for taking the time out to reach back to share your knowledge with those who are just getting started. I will definitely reach out to you.
Thank you for all that you do. Wishing you massive success along your journey.
- Shannon
- Investor · Germany · Member since 2021 · 23 posts · 33 votes4y
Quote from @Guy Gimenez:
1. Never risk more money than you can lose without losing sleep.
2. Your most important asset will be your relationships. Build them daily. With the right relationships you'll have everything you need to to succeed...money, skills, knowledge, advice, etc.
3. Jumping into investing (as so many advice others to do) is the worst advice you'll ever get. That is no way to start a business, much less a self-sustaining, long term business. Education is a must. Learning is a daily activity. Spend at least 3 hours per day (or night) learning about one aspect of investing until you have a solid understanding of that strategy.
4. Understand that there are more scammers in this industry than you could ever imagine...many of them are ready to take your money because they are good at detecting those who don't know what they don't know. Trust must be earned and you can't buy it. Social media is chocked full of pretenders...believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. If someone you're considering working with makes a claim, they should be able to back it up. If they can't or won't, it's time to move on.
5. You'll need time AND money when starting business. Marketing is essential and it's only purpose is to create a phone call, text, email or form fill (leads). Leads are your lifeblood of a business. Treat them like gold...they're expensive so don't waste a single one.
The one thing I regret in my business is not understanding early on the power of relational capital. I wanted to build a business on my own without any help from others. I missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars because of it. Fortunately, I hired a coach who put me on the right path and to this day I still focus on building relationships. The lifetime value of the right relationships can't be overlooked.
Guy,
What awesome advice! As a person that appreciates the real up-front, I greatly appreciate you sharing your experiences. I want to highlight that last point you made, regarding personal capital. I am quite naturally a "loner", and I have learned over the last few years that you can't go far by yourself. I have recently spent a lot of my energy investing in relationships and providing the "give and take". Definitely something that I wish I had caught on to early in life. When you work well alone, you assume that is what is best. Not in real estate!
I appreciate you taking the time to share your advice. Wishing you much success along your journey.
- Shannon
- Rental Property Investor · Doylestown, PA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes4y
@Shannon Glanton - Welcome! You are 100% right. The internet is a blessing and a curse. All the information you could possibly need is out there somewhere but it becomes information overload and contributes to the analysis paralysis you're experiencing. I experienced it as well. You just have to go step by step. You'll be much better served if you ask specific questions. Feel free to message me. I've coached a lot of beginners over the past few years and I'd be happy to point you in the right direction. The one thing I'd say that should help make it feel less overwhelming... there is no "one" right way to start investing. There are lots of right ways. The biggest, most helpful thing you can do is pick one that best suits you and get started. You'll learn 100x more by doing one deal than you can from reading 100 books. Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration but you get what I mean :)
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