Hi! I'm Ben from San Antonio,tx. Just getting started.

[Benjamin Sanders]

Hello all! I recently moved to San Antonio and got bit by the rental real estate bug...hard. I've been saving for about 5 years and I'm looking to buy my first rental property, either single family/ small multi-family rental home. Considering house-hacking in a 2/3/4plex. Eventual goal of financial freedom. I bought Brandon's book on rental real estate investing and have listened to it almost 3 times so far, along with Rich Dad Poor Dad. I'm active duty Air Force and hope to use the VA loan to my advantage where applicable. Just getting started here in the forums, I'll be doing a lot of reading in the weeks to come. Glad to be here! Thank you everyone for contributing to such a wealth of knowledge. -Benjamin Sanders

[Rick Pozos]

Hey @Benjamin Sanders, 

Let me dispell the myth right now, it is not easy working 40 hours a week and then sending out postcards or letters and then seeing houses in the evening, especially in winter when it gets dark by 6 or 630pm. You have to just put in your mind that it will take at least 2 hours per day EXTRA to get you that first GOOD deal within about 6 months.

Read up and learn about direct marketing, driving for dollars, and since you will be in contact with plenty of people, you might want to learn a thing or two about non-verbal communication and neuro-linguistic programming. Google them and maybe read a book or two about the last two.

You have to become very efficient when you have 2 hours more of work and the same amount of time to do it in. I always suggest people get all the junk out of their lives (candy crush, farmerville, facebook, etc) and spend more time reading and studying real estate.

In the long run, of course it is well worth it!!