Where to start For Someone New?

Question

Hey there everyone! Nice to meet you all. I am new to real estate investing. I just boight tbe vook Rich Dad Poor Dad and found it to be amazing. I am the fresh meat here when it comes to investing. I been watching some youtube videos about investing & listening to the bigger pockets podcast but I know almost nothing about where or how to start investing from nothing. I work a full time job atm, I am a father of 3 kids and a spouse. Currently my income is horrible so I got nothing saved to start investing but regardless I am determined to get out of the rut & give my family a better life. Guess what I am saying is asking where to start with no money. My credit is around like 645 so not sure what that would do. Am working on making it better. If anyone could point me in the right direction that would help tremendously. Thanks for listening.

Michael Vu · Answer

@Mike Curry I'd recommend starting off with the book The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner and Set For Life by Scott Trench. I think these two books are wonderful for starting off learning about getting your finances in order and investing in different types of real estate. They have step by step instructions on real estate investing. Best of luck and welcome to BiggerPockets!

Matthew Butler · Answer

I agree with the taking action part, meetup.com can be your best friend.

Mike Curry · Answer

Hey thanks for the info. I do not know what a FHA loan is but I will read about it. Being new to this real estate thing.  Looks like a language I dont understand lol. Kinds got a learning issue cause of that I have to learn hands on for it to click. Kind of embarrassing but hey my determination will prevail. Ok so I have no debt. So where do I find a mentor or a invester. I am kind of lost on step 1.  I can put back some money to start saving. I been learning alittle about wholesale but still dont understand it enough to do it. I want to and am motivated to start. Just need to get past the trying to understanding of it im stuck in. I think I got alittle of it understood though so I need to try to get a loan and then find a rent out house to get tenants? Lol Man I am lost in the wind.

Matthew Butler · Answer

@Mike Curry Hey Mike, I think everyone wants to start building their investment portfolio as quick as possible in order to have freedom in their life and provide their family with everything they desire. However, I believe there are steps that must be taken first in order to do this. Of course, you don't have to take my advice but I felt I should share.

My rules are: Make it, Store it, Grow it.

I think where many people go wrong is they believe investing is a vehicle to make money. I believe investing is a vehicle to grow money. If you don't have the income to invest yet then the first step is to find a vehicle/job that will earn you enough income that you'll have extra to store away at the end of the year. This may even call for you to create a side hustle. Majority of people will recommend to start off in wholesaling but any side hustle that allows you to store cash will help while you're still learning Real Estate. You can find a partner who has money and knowledge but no time so maybe you can do task for him or her. You can also be a bird dog, hunting for potential investments and sending them to investors. Wholesaling is a good option because it allows you to actually "be in the game", which is the best way to learn since Real Estate is a "situational" game, meaning every deal will be different so it's not only about learning the process, it's learning how to make decisions on the fly and fix problems that blind side you.

With that being said, I recommend starting a side hustle to store cash so you can have enough to begin investing. It may not need to be a ton since you can find Hard Money Lenders to loan you majority of the project. Another option would be to passively invest, in which you will still need some sort of capital. All of this is simple but not easy and if you persevere it will pay off.

Earn more income while learning

Store it

Grow it

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any additional questions.

Unconditionally,

Matt Butler

Brian Alfaro · Answer

My personal recommendation to both of you is to make sure your personal life is in order, especially financially. Try to eliminate as much debt (if not all) as you can. It’ll help with your ability to get a loan since you don’t have a lot of money.

If you don’t have debt, you aren’t making payments on things that won’t make you money. You can take the money you would normally use for debt payments (like credit card or car payments) and save it until you have enough for a down payment on a house. There are many strategies once you have a little money. You can take an FHA loan and live in the house for a bit (house hack), or if you have enough money you could use Hard Money or Conventional Financing.

Don’t let money stand in your way of learning, meeting investors already taking action, or staying focused on learning a part of the business that can help you bring value to another investor who DOES have money. You either have to have time, money, or experience to invest in real estate. You don’t need all three. Find a good off market deal and partner with another investor who does have money and go from there.

Jaz Reed · Answer

@Mike Curry I’m new also so I’m following. Reading other post they are advising people like us to do FHA financing on a duplex and earn a few hundred bucks a month until we get the hang of it.

Mike Curry · Answer

Sorry for the typos lol. On a phone.

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