Question to People with Real Estate Experience

[Kayden Wahl]

I'm 18 and have been researching real estate for the past year learning the mindset and getting my foot in the door where I'm currently doing BRRRRs with an older investor who also does all the contracting so learning both sides hands on. I'm saving up a down payment and working on credit aswell.

Im curious about what yall believe are some steps that I should be ensuring to take at a young age to best help out my investing career.

Should I look for ways into my own deals now? Should I just keep learning through research,books,and hands on work?

Just curious what yall more seasoned investors believe I should do??

[Garrett Crosby]

Honestly at 18, the fact that you're doing hands-on BRRRRs with an experienced investor is already ahead of 95% of people who come to this forum asking where to start. Most people your age are reading books and watching YouTube. You're actually doing the work.

Travis and JD nailed the core of it — capital and credit are your two biggest levers right now. But I'd add one more thing: relationships. The investor you're working with is already a huge asset. Every contractor, lender, agent, and wholesaler you meet through that person is a potential door to your first deal. Treat those relationships like they matter because they do.

On whether to do your own deals now — I'd say yes, but be selective. At your age you don't need to force a deal to prove something. What you're looking for is a deal where someone with more experience than you can validate the numbers and the scope before you commit. You don't want your first deal to be a lesson you can't afford. A house hack is probably the cleanest first deal for someone your age — FHA loan, low down payment, live in one unit, rent the others. You learn landlording with skin in the game but limited downside.

Keep doing what you're doing. You're building the foundation most people in their 30s wish they had. Happy to DM if you want to talk through a specific deal or market.