I'm a newbie out of Seattle. My wife and I just purchased our first condo 6 months ago. I would love to hang on to it and rent it in about 4 or 5 years when we get ready to move. And from there just continue purchasing real estate as our finances allow.
What's your story? What got you into buying / selling real estate in the first place? Any pointers for a youngin?
Rental Property Investor · Twin Cities, MN · Member since 2008 · 94 posts · 10 votes
19y
trip7,
I am new to this board, but have been investing for a while. Step negative one in investing in anything, let alone real estate is that you have your own financial house in order.
Some of my life rules:
Live below your means
learn delayed gratification
buy used cars
no consumer debt
dont keep up with the joneses
do something besides your day job to make you money. This will help you save for times of uncertainty and also, provide excess funds to invest.
And the last one, 90% of the population basically stinks.
Once you can learn to keep your house in order, you can then move on to choosing your investments.
Keep in mind, the investment of real estate is in landlording. Buy four little green houses and then trade then in for a red hotel.
The income of real estate is in creative rei, guru type stuff. You are only as good as your next deal. This is also called self employment. Whether you choose to do REI or own a pizza place, you need to understand basic business fundamentals to be successful, such as cash flow, sales, and accounting. Some gurus tell you to hire someone for the things you dont know how to do. That is great, but who is going to tell them what to do? A company needs a leader and if you are not it, then how is it supposed to succeed.