Nervous in Northfield, MN- Umm, hello?

Question

Hello everyone,

My name is Johnny and I have wanted to be in real estate for many years, off and on. When I started getting excited about all the new "greening" techniques being applied to new houses I started thinking that maybe we were missing the boat on recycling the old ones. So my hope is to learn all I can from this community and start helping to turn houses green ( and , I don't know, maybe make a few dollars in return). I am very excited to meet all of you at BP and, as mentioned, a little nervous.

Brandon Turner · Answer

Hey @Johnny Peterson welcome! You've definitely come to the right place to learn more about investing. If you haven't yet, be sure to check out the The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing and The BiggerPockets Podcast. They are both great at learning the fundamentals.

Oh - and don't forget to set up your Keyword Alerts!

See you around the site!

Brian K. · Answer

Hi @Johnny Peterson and welcome to BP.

Johnny Peterson · Answer

Hi Joan-

I don't at this point know what the market is currently like, but I know when we bought our house here there was not much inventory. My thought is I will have to travel further north to get any kind of market. From what is sounds like the MLS is democratizing the field a bit. In order to find the goods, one may have to search the unconventional. It's like a real bonafide treasure hunt. ARRRGH!

But I am willing to wait for the long haul for rentals in town. I will keep you mind as I explore the market better. The one thing that has really encouraged me about whether or not I really want to do real estate is how fascinating I find the whole mechanics and psychology of it.

Do you work mainly in WI or do you bounce back and forth? There is so much space between properties, I an curious if you do many deals from a distance.

JOAN DICKIE · Answer

Welcome to biggerpockets!  Northfield is such a pretty city.  With the college, is the rental market good there?  Will you be lead generating a little farther north like Apple Valley?  I moved out of the area in 2012, and it was hard then to find  value on the MLS as the investors were going hard then.

Johnny Peterson · Answer

Great tip! I am pretty sure I will wear the crushed red velvet tux and keep my mouth shut. I'll be the red crushed velvet fly on the wall. Can't wait.

Sharad M. · Answer

MN REIAs

Not all REIAs are alike, so you will have to go to couple of meetings of each REIA in your area to see which one is best fit for you.

As far as dressing up, I wore a tuxedo to first couple of meetings to get all the attention. I am just kidding.

I would dress like you do an average day, nothing special for REIA meetings. If you have money to lend, don't tell this to anyone. Attend the first couple of meetings just to listen what other people have to say. And you will start differentiating between a sales person and an actual RE investor.

Johnny Peterson · Answer

Absolutely  want to find some REIAs in my area. I am probably going to have to go a little outside of my local neighborhood as it is a pretty small town. Other than connecting with other BP members in the area, what do you think is the best way to find non icky REIAs? And I know this sounds completely naive but how does one dress to a REIA meeting? Preppy Casual? Business Shark? Friendly Slob? Thank you again for saying hello.

Sharad M. · Answer

@Johnny Peterson

I totally understand that. Have you thought about attending local REIAs and networking with some local investors and learning more about your market and what's working and what's not working?

You might want to set up an alert on BP for your area, that will be helpful.

Johnny Peterson · Answer

Hello Sharad-

Thanks for the welcome. A month ago I would have said I wanted to all flips, all the time, just flips, nothing but flips. Flips, flips, flips. You know- flips. I have since then listened to just about every podcast, read 3 or so books, including BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing or BPUBGREI. So now I'm thinking starting out with some marketing for whole sales to hone my rehabing estimate and networking skills, then move on to actual rehabing to gain some capital, then buy and hold for passive income. So you know- stuff.

Sharad M. · Answer

@Johnny Peterson

Welcome to BiggerPockets!! IMO, this is the best place to learn about RE.

Are you looking to do flips, wholesale or rentals?

Sharad