FIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! A Complete Investor Newbie

[Joshua Reed]

Hey Y'all,
My wife and I came back from an island vacay that she got because of a big promotion she got!  She had wanted her "fun car", meaning a cute convertible.  On the flight back started looking at some island properties, and on the drive to pick out her car, we came to the big kid decision that a first local rental property made the most sense.  So now, here we are!  
We are nearly completely liquid at the moment, only debt is our primary mortgage which is already in ~$65k equity after two years.  We are living Dave Ramsey'ish, but not fully.  So, we are NOT house hacking, we are NOT going to do the equity rollover to each new property, and our plan is to use our fairly large income sources to buy turn-key income-generating properties for long-hold to increase overall wealth in our investment portfolio.
I really look forward to getting some more learning in about how to best achieve our goals!
Cheers,
J. 

[Caleb Brown]

Great start. Whether you look local or somewhere else build a team. Find the right people(agent, PM, GC, etc) to help guide you in the purchasing of deals. Practice running #'s then make offers

[Devin Ryan]

Congrats on the recent successes and best of luck into this next venture! If you are still exploring the financing side of RE Investing, I'd love the opportunity to connect to show some mock scenarios or answer any questions you may have! 

[Garrett Crosby]

Hi @Joshua Reed - it's always so exciting to jump into this very lucrative, life-changing, generational wealth-building field. Here are the steps I recommend to get started! :) 

#1 Start reading. Read about strategies that intrigue you. It sounds like you might be interested in long term rentals - but even if you settle on that, you will want to read and invest in your knowledge first.

#2 Pick a market to invest in. For long term rentals, there are long-term rental-friendly markets. Typically, I like to look for markets that exist in states that are landlord-friendly. :)

#3 Partner with a great investor-friendly real estate agent. This will be your biggest ally when it comes to looking at deals and helping you find a property that fits the strategy you're after.

#4 Practice using a rental calculator to calculate your numbers. Ultimately, you are in charge of your funds, so you will want to make sure you get good at understanding your numbers, cash flow, etc.

#5 Build your team. This starts with your agent, but if you invest out of state, you will probably want a good property management company, good handymen on call, good contractor contacts, etc. A great investor agent will usually have referrals at the ready.

I'm happy to help you anytime you want. I love this stuff. I'm an agent here in LA - but happy to connect you with other great agents in other markets too. (Or just happy to talk about investment strategies too!)

Good luck!

[Vince Talerico]

That sounds like a great move Jashua. Have you started the process of trying to find great rental properties yet? I've always got my finger on that pulse and would be more than happy to assist in finding exactly what you need.