Real estate research

[Jude Compton]

Hi, I’m a 17 year old living right around the Minneapolis area. I’m very interested in a future and real estate and have read rich dad poor dad, the abcs of real estate investing, and I’m currently working my way through the book on rental property investing. This is all alongside listening to the bigger pockets real estate rookie podcast and the main podcast. What other steps would you guys recommend to prepare to buy my first house in several years time when I’m old enough. Also I honestly have no idea if I should go to college to try to get a job, go to trade school, or just go straight into full time real estate. Any input or help would be very appreciated. Thanks!

[Jeff Schemmel]

@Jude Compton i spent ten years in corporate before going full time in real estate.  It came with struggles, and I think if I knew better at the time I would've dropped everything and just hit the fast forward button on getting my license and owning a duplex.  The biggest advantage that experience gave me was having a little starting cash and some connections; most of them not relevant in real estate but many who helped me learn a set of skills in professionalism.

That said, I would highly recommend trying out working in the trades to gain some of those skills that are relevant to property management and maintenance.  They pay well these days, and will be more likely to pay you dividends down the line when you own property and have repairs/improvements to make and especially when you're choosing property to invest in.  Luckily, I worked very early in my life in trades between high school and college semesters and I had some of that.

You either need a boatload of cash, or you need a salary/work history to get you in the door to purchase.  If you start in real estate sales, for example, you start self-employed.  That's not bad, but at least right now you can be limited in your loan options with that approach.  I 100% endorse it, and would be open to talking more about how this went for me in my early 30s.  I see them as equally challenging paths, and the choice here is more about what you find personally relevant in my opinion.  Hope this is helpful, and good for you for reading and getting some direction established in your life!