All Forum Posts by: Adam Guymon

@Adam Guymon Congrats on being in an amazing place to start investing so young! I think a lot of great resources were tossed out earlier today by Nathan and Ryan and I wanted to echo a few sentiments. I should also say that I am affiliated with BiggerPockets, but as an investor myself I only recommend things that I actual use and that I think you would find useful based on what you've said about yourself, as with any recommendations take them with a grain of salt and think about what is most beneficial to you in this moment where you're at

1. BE CAREFUL and choosey when it comes to finding a mentor, some folks will hear your income and be very interested in "helping" for the wrong reasons. Do not get me wrong, there are a lot of great people and resources out there but ultimately make sure you do a gut check and due diligence before listening to anyone on their advice, especially if they are asking you for money in some way. Even people with great intentions can have different outlooks and goals than you and making sure your intentions align is really important!

2. I think BiggerPockets Pro membership could be well worth your time if you only have a few spare hours a week. You're time is very valuable at 200k annually so finding the best and highest use of your time is of the upmost importance and BP pro membership can offer you two immediate things that will save you time. 

A) You'll have access to unlimited calculator use rather than having to invest in some kind of other software or building an excel sheet from scratch which will save you money and time

B) You have access to the marketfinder, and on-market dealfinder and off-market dealfinder. Given that you want to be passive on-market deal finder is probably where you want to look since off-market deals are mostly foreclosures that likely have lots of work needed and extra due diligence. 

Here's the links I think you would find most useful given what you've said:

• BiggerPockets Market Finder - Insights into zip codes, recommended cities to invest in based on factors like rent to price ratio, median home value, and more. A good place to start your search if you're not sure what area of the country you want to invest in

• BiggerPockets Deal Finder (on market)- once you have an area or two in mind this is like using zillow on steroids because it has investor specific filters and does some of the analysis for you for example you can filter by rental yield and it will also show you homes that analysis shows are underpriced for their market

• BiggerPockets Deal Finder (off market) - Maybe not best for your first deal based on your description of your current status and goals but helpful if in the future you want something that you can force appreciation, most of these homes are in foreclosure 

• BiggerPockets Calculators - as a BP free member you get up to 5 uses of the calculators free every year, as a pro member you get unlimited uses of all the calculators, and you can save each analysis you run so you don't have to come back and redo it every time. Save yourself the time and headache of building your own spreadsheet and use the calculators to do the heavy lifting for you! 

3. With your income and time limitations you could also consider syndication investing which are much more passive and give you a place for your money immediately while you dip your toes in your first solo deals so your extra savings can work for you while you learn to acquire more properties on your own. BiggerPockets is launching a new platform for exactly this early next month and you can get signed up to receive information about PassivePockets here 

I know this all sounds like a BiggerPockets ad, but really I wouldn't be here if BiggerPockets hadn't helped me SO much on my own investing journey and I can't help it that I think we build the best tools and give the best education in the real estate investing space! 😅

Here's some generic advice. Maybe it will help narrow your focus on specifics:

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Prioritize your financial stability. Eliminate debt, establish a budget, and save. Remember, the notion of amassing wealth without investing is a dangerous myth perpetuated by self-proclaimed experts. A prudent investor doesn't seek quick riches through shortcuts. To thrive in real estate investing, you must maintain a firm grip on your finances. Explore my personal favorites, Set For Life by Scott Trench or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, for invaluable financial insights.

3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. NETWORK!!! Get out of your comfort zone. Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away. Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area. You can also find real estate investing groups through meetup.com, Facebook, or a Google search. Birds of a feather flock together!

5. Now, you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books on this topic, or you can learn about it by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. A handy search bar in the upper right makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, recognizing a good deal will be much easier when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

6. Study the market. You can learn to do this independently or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR who works with investors and knows how to help you best.

7. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. You could read 100 books and still need to learn more because certain things must be learned through trial and error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g., "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is forgiving; the average person can still make money even with some big mistakes.

Software is a common question on BiggerPockets. Here are some things to consider:

1. Most investors don't need software until they have 5-10 rentals. You only need a place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, etc. You can easily do this on a spreadsheet, and it will take less time to track than finding and learning new software. If the software is not simplifying your life or making you more accurate, you shouldn't use it. Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.
2. Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports. Do you need all this for a couple of rentals?
3. There is no perfect software out there. Every system you try will have flaws, or you may salivate over a feature that appears in other software.

Some familiar names are mentioned frequently: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.

I recommend conducting thorough research on each app online to understand their offerings, pricing, etc. Create a simple spreadsheet or written list to compare the features of each and identify the ones that align with your requirements. Try to narrow down your options to the top 3-4. Once you have a shortlist, sign up for an account with each one and test them extensively to see how they function. Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.

• Load a property with pictures and details.
• Market that property.
• See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.
• Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.
• Run a credit/screening report on yourself.
• Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, and attach a fake invoice.
• Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.
• Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.
• Sign documents electronically.
• Run owner reports.

After testing a few apps, one should clearly stand out. It's important to choose that one and commit to using it. Remember, no system is perfect, so avoid the temptation of constantly chasing after the next shiny object. You should only consider switching when your current software has a significant flaw or lacks features that force you to spend excessive time on workarounds. At that point, it's worth researching and finding a solution that better meets your needs.