All Forum Posts by: Joseph Ochoa

Since you are a teacher in my backyard of Los Angeles, you may be able to qualify for the Golden State grant specific for teachers.  I have had a few of my clients (that are teachers in LA, Riverside and Kern Counties) qualify for this program these past few months.  Most teachers don't know that this program exists, much less that they qualify.  So if there is a will, there is a way!

Unless you plan on becoming a Real Estate agent, there is no need to go to "real estate school". You can learn alot from the BiggerPockets books, bootcamps, podcasts and these forums without having to pay for the high cost of some of these classes  I would follow ever single one of the points suggested by @Nathan Gesner, this dude gives really good advice.  Since you are a teacher, then you will obviously agree that the more you read, the more knowledgeable you will be....so grab as many BiggerPockets books as you can and read away. More importantly, put that knowledge into practice.  

Last but not least, get out there and meet investors, RE Agents, and Mortgage Lenders.  Listen to their advice and their ideas.  Everyone comes from a different walk in life and they will give you different perspectives.  Good luck on your journey!

I'll second @Jonathan Greene , @Michael Smythe , and @Michael Paling - BRRRR and flipping are bad ideas when you don't have any money or experience. Heck, they're bad ideas half the time for people that do.

You can do this, but it's going to be a long term, slow and steady approach to get the snowball rolling downhill. You're a middle school teacher and probably a really kind hearted guy that just wants to add some financial stability to your family. Go to meetups, tell your story, and I bet you'll find experienced investors that will help you out (by giving you advice, not by cutting you a check or partnering). 

And this may seem obvious, but look for the old cars, guys that buy their clothes at Costco, and have absolutely nothing to sell you. And for the love of everything, be VERY cautious if someone wants to partner with you.

Make no mistake, though, it's going to take some sacrifice and time. If you can find a way to house hack in LA, that's what I would advise to start after 100-200 hours of self education and taking time to save as much as you can.

You might consider using creative finance to get over the financing hump and buying "off market" gives the best returns. 

I'm going to echo all the other comments that everyone else has said. You're at the stage of needing to learn. So spend as much time as possible reading books, listening to podcasts and approach this world of REI as you'd like (or wish) your students would take the lessons you teach. I highly recommend reading Brandon Turner's books. They're very well written and something I return to often.

Don't start off flipping and you're probably not yet at the stage of doing BRRRR. You need to know how to find comps, estimate the ARV, manage contractors (or do the work yourself), and more.

House Hacking is always a commonly recommended route to start. Find a way to make money off your primary residence. Buy a duplex or small multi family, live in one unit and rent the rest. Rent out rooms in the unit you live too. You can even purchase these properties with a low down payment mortgage. 

Aside from all this, and what others have said, keep asking questions. Post more on here, find local investors, and keep asking everyone questions. Everyone starts somewhere, so everyone knows how you feel right now.

@Joseph Ochoa it's almost impossible to make money at RE investing with no money and no knowledge!

You need one or the other, preferably both.

Since you don't have any money, you'll need to focus on knowledge.

Besides building your network, you can also start looking at properties to find market inefficiencies you can flip to an investor with funds for a fee.

Wholesaling is the most common form of this, but you can do this in several different ways.

Also, what happened if you found a "tired landlord" and got them to accept your offer of 0% down, but $x/month payment to take their problem off their hands via seller financing?

Good chance you have no idea what I'm talking about, which shows you don't have enough knowledge YET to pull that off.

If you are motivated, you can make it happen!

I would take a step back before rushing because you have no experience and no capital. Don't think, how can I invest soon, think how can I built relationships with others who have over the next year so I can start to get a plan in place. Teaching has the main benefit of summers off, not the pay, so savings is light, but time in the summer is there.

Find local meetups and go to at least one a month and don't try to find out how to do a deal, you aren't ready, find out why you want to do a deal. I would not think flipping first either, it's a rabbit hole and with no money, your options would be hard money which is a hard ask right now for first timers.

Start by reading some books and educating yourself on the various ways you can invest in real estate. Watch podcasts and listen to how others have done it. Learn the language. Find a local investing group (or several) and network with other investors that can answer your questions and help teach you.

Here's some of my basic beginner advice.

Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of your screen and you can search for other MEMBERS or LOCAL MEETUPS. You can also check meetup.com or search facebook for real estate investment groups, clubs, or meetings in your area. 

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. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

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 that 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 for this or you can learn 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 you can use 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 not know enough 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 a forgiving world; the average person can still make money even with some big mistakes.

Hi Joseph-

Great question!

I also taught middle school science for 25 years.

I started in real estate using the equity in my home as a lot of investors do. If you have equity, consider pulling out money to invest with a home equity line of credit.

Also, because you have a schedule that can allow you to actively work as a Realtor, I would encourage you to get your real estate license, as I did, and begin networking with other local investors and helping your sphere of influence buy, sell, and invest. This will help you get experience and save up some money as well.

Finally, I recommend you invest in an area you can cashflow even if it is out of State. Find a local investor friendly Realtor, ask them for a referral to a quality local property manager and have them help you find a duplex that needs some cosmetic updates. Buy with equity and cashflow, improve units at vacancy, increase cashflow and then pull money out and go do it again.

To Your Success!