New To This need advice how to start

Member since 2026 · 1 post · 4 votes

Hello folks I'm so new this but I believe this is a good opportunity to make money. I'm just on here trying to figure things out if anyone can lead me to good sources for information and support it would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

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Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

1mo

1. Get a job making as much money as possible 2. Buy a double and live in half 3. Use elbow grease to upgrade the property as far as you can with sweat equity. 4. Wait 5-10 years refinance and buy more rentals 5. Repeat

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Travis Goodwin
Wholesaler · Charleston WV · Member since 2026 · 246 posts · 137 votes
1mo
George, start by understanding that real estate/wholesaling can be a good business, but it is not easy or guaranteed money.
The basic process is simple. Find a potential opportunity, start a conversation with the owner, figure out what the property is worth, make an offer that leaves room for an investor, and follow up.
Before spending money on software or a course, learn how to analyze deals and understand the wholesaling laws in your state. BiggerPockets, local investor meetings, county records, and conversations with active local buyers are good places to begin.
Choose one market, one way to find sellers, and work it consistently for at least 90 days. Do not try five different strategies at once. Your first goal should be having real conversations and making offers, not building the perfect system.
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Brad SeidBusiness Member
Lender · Licensed in 28 States · Member since 2026 · 182 posts · 58 votes
1mo
@George Gutieres Welcome! Everyone starts somewhere, and learning from experienced investors can make a big difference. I work with real estate investors and help connect them with lending options for acquisitions, fix & flips, and investment properties. If you find a deal and need financing guidance, feel free to reach out. Happy to help!
[email protected]248-408-3855
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Brad SeidBusiness Member
Lender · Licensed in 28 States · Member since 2026 · 182 posts · 58 votes
1mo
@George Gutieres Welcome! Real estate can definitely be a great opportunity. As you’re learning, don’t overlook the financing side. If you ever need guidance on lending options for your first deal, feel free to reach out. Happy to connect and help where I can!
[email protected]248-408-3855
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Harry B.Pro Member
Lender · New York, NY · Member since 2026 · 71 posts · 22 votes
1mo
READ READ READ, AND THEN READ SOME MORE.
Every successful real estate entrepreneur has one main superpower---knowledge.
Create a strong network to support your ventures and win.
Start with a debt provider and find your strong points and what loans you qualify for because leverage is the King of Real estate.
[email protected]917-348-2846
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Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
1mo
1. Get a job making as much money as possible 2. Buy a double and live in half 3. Use elbow grease to upgrade the property as far as you can with sweat equity. 4. Wait 5-10 years refinance and buy more rentals 5. Repeat
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- Caleb Day
  Homeowner · Member since 2025 · 6 posts · 1 vote
  2w
  This is about where I'm at in my journey. Making decent money, and looking to house hack. I made a post about this yesterday to get the thoughts of the community.
  As to your comment, you seem to be saying that it's worth it to build equity for 5-10 years before refinancing and expanding a portfolio. This is the main question I had. If I make a deal soon, it won't cash flow for a few years, but in 5-10 years I should be able to get another deal.
  The timeline you presented here is encouraging. Makes me feel less silly for considering a more mid -long term focused deal. Just trying to make sure I'm not wasting money on a deal like what I'm looking at if there's a faster way to make money/build equity.
  Any other thoughts on this?
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- Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member
  Real Estate Agent · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
  2w
  @Caleb Day It took me 7 years to refinance my first property. Once I did that I had another plethora of problems to solve. For now, you need to build equity and understand RE investing takes a ton of patience. Living in a double and building equity through appreciation and doing as much work as you can is a solid low risk path. Don't buy a place that needs a kitchen reno, bathroom reno, bowing basement all etc... you will spend $2,500 in tools just trying to take on the work yourself.
  Buy a place that needs to be spruced up... paint, landscaping, you can pay for hot water tanks and HVAC to be upgraded pretty easily. Then... you wait... lots of waiting while you keep your property in good shape and continue to put Capital into it to force appreciate.
  Eventually its time to refinance and upgrade or buy another place with more Capital. Both refinancing and debt paydown work. I like to use debt, some investors do not.
  After you level up to the next refinance and buy 2-4 more properties, then you have business systems, property management, and where can I find a reliable maintenance guy problems to worry about.
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- Caleb Day
  Homeowner · Member since 2025 · 6 posts · 1 vote
  2w
  This is very helpful, thanks.
  I have a pretty good team built at this point from my initial property purchase and from the last few weeks of getting quotes and running numbers on potential deals.
  Hopefully the right one comes along soon so I can start building some equity.
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Divin KanyamaBusiness Member
Accountant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2025 · 502 posts · 211 votes
1mo
Welcome, @George Gutieres ! It’s great that you’re asking questions before jumping into a deal. Real estate can create opportunities, but the best first step is learning the numbers, risks, and responsibilities—not just the potential profit.
BiggerPockets, local real estate investor meetups, investor-friendly lenders, property managers, contractors, and experienced agents can all be useful resources. Pick one strategy—such as long-term rentals, house hacking, or flipping—and study how it works in your local market.
Before buying, analyze rent or resale value, financing, repairs, taxes, insurance, vacancy, and cash reserves using conservative assumptions. Avoid anyone promising easy or guaranteed returns.
You don’t need to know everything immediately. Keep learning, build a reliable local team, and start with a deal you fully understand. If you share your market and the strategy you’re considering, people here can probably point you toward more specific resources.
[email protected]
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Wale LawalBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
1mo
@George Gutieres
Welcome to BP! There is a lot of data out there, and so my advice would be to begin with finding a strategy you find interesting and then working on it mathematically before attempting a deal. Furthermore, you should also consider spending some time talking to local investors; at times, a single discussion with an investor might prove more fruitful than hours of internet research.
Good luck!
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Alev Sharma
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles County · Member since 2026 · 17 posts · 4 votes
3w
Welcome, George. Since you're in LA, one thing worth knowing early: a lot of the generic advice out there assumes a market where houses cost $150k. Here the entry price changes which strategies make sense, so it helps to pick your path with that in mind.
A few ways people realistically start in Los Angeles:
- House hack a duplex or a house with an ADU, live in one unit and rent the other. Owner-occupied financing is the biggest advantage you'll ever get.
- Learn the acquisition side first. Pull recent sold comps in one neighborhood (say, a few zip codes in the Valley) until you can guess a house's value within 5-10% before looking it up. That skill is the foundation of every flip, wholesale or rental.
- Work around active investors. Walk properties with a contractor, sit in on a local meetup, offer to help someone with comps or driving for dollars. You learn faster seeing real deals than reading about them.
We run Cash Home Buyers CA out of Woodland Hills, and the newer people I've seen succeed all had one thing in common: they picked one strategy and one area and stuck with it for 6-12 months instead of jumping between shiny objects.
Also be careful with anyone selling a "guaranteed" system or expensive coaching right out of the gate. Free resources plus real conversations with local investors will get you further in the first year.
What's your situation - are you looking to buy something to live in, or more interested in flipping/wholesaling? That changes the best first step quite a bit.
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Matt Laricy
Chicago, IL · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 1 vote
2w
Welcome to BiggerPockets, George. There’s definitely a lot to learn when you’re first getting started, so I’d focus on understanding the different strategies before worrying too much about finding the “right” deal.
Real estate can mean rentals, house hacking, multifamily, flipping, wholesaling, and even more passive approaches, and each one has a very different capital and time commitment.
What part are you most interested in right now? actually owning rental property, finding deals, or just figuring out how you can get started with the capital you have?
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Nicholas L.Pro Member
Flipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
2w
@George Gutieres
what @Matthew Irish-Jones said.
it's not a good way to make money in the short term.
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John Leland
Specialist · I give advice - [email protected] - I focus on states where investing is profitable, reasonably safe & secure · Member since 2026 · 140 posts · 48 votes
2w
Quote from @George Gutieres:
Hello folks I'm so new this but I believe this is a good opportunity to make money. I'm just on here trying to figure things out if anyone can lead me to good sources for information and support it would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!
@George Gutieres Bear with me, I don't know what your goals are, what you resources are or what your experiences are, so it's a little presumptuous to make suggestions.
However, what you might consider starting with is setting some specific goals such as “ I want to be able to live off of my investments in real estate by the time I am XX and that means I need to be clearing $xx per year. I will do that by buying properties that I (pick one) “fix & flip” or “Cash Flow” or “wholesale” or “whatever your next choice is, and there are a lot of choices”.
I will make my primary buying area “whichever state” and I will learn all I need to know about buying “choice” in state of “choice” and I will enlist the help of those who are already successful in putting together the plan and experiences necessary to meet my goal. Then begin seeking the people who will help you get to where you want to be.
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Diana KhanPro Member
Attorney · 10451 Mill Run Cir #755 Owings Mills, MD 21117 · Member since 2024 · 610 posts · 207 votes
2w
Quote from @George Gutieres:
Hello folks I'm so new this but I believe this is a good opportunity to make money. I'm just on here trying to figure things out if anyone can lead me to good sources for information and support it would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!
@George Gutieres, you’ve gotten a lot of good advice here. Since you’re still figuring out where to start, I wouldn’t rush to pick a property yet. I’d first spend some time learning the different ways people invest and see which one actually fits your money, time, and goals.
I’m a real estate attorney and investor, and one thing I’ve seen with newer investors is that they can get comfortable running the numbers before they’re comfortable with the documents behind the deal. Once you decide what direction you want to take, spend some time learning the basics of contracts, title, ownership, and what you’re actually agreeing to before you sign anything. Those questions are much easier to deal with before money is on the line.
Glad you found BiggerPockets, @George Gutieres. Asking questions before jumping into something is already a good place to start. The legal side of real estate is where I spend a lot of my time, so I’m always happy to stay connected as you learn.
[email protected]240-266-0291
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