Getting Started In Real Estate Investing

I’m often asked “What is the best way for getting started in real estate investing?” The answer is simple, you must take action and the first place to start is by increasing your knowledge about real estate investing.

The next challenge is where do you find the right real estate investing advice? Often the advice found in books and courses for the beginning real estate investor talk about making sure your credit report is good, putting a real estate investing team together, thinking small in the beginning, and putting down 20-25% for a down payment. This is a bunch of BS.

Here’s some real estate investing advice you can take to the bank as a beginner. You don’t need cash, credit, or a ‘real estate investing team’ to get started as a real estate investor! What you need is the right knowledge that can teach you how to buy properties without using your own money, how to take over existing debt, how to use other people’s cash to fund your deals, and how to buy and sell properties in the same day (it’s called wholesaling).

If you’re just beginning your real estate investing you may find it hard to believe that it is really possible to buy and sell property without cash or credit. So let me give you some real estate investing advice that will help you go from a beginning real estate investor to an experienced real estate investor.

1. Choose your mentors wisely. As a beginning real estate investor it is critical for your investing success that you seek advice from successful investors that have actually “been there and done that!” For instance Donald Trump is often touted as one of the most successful real estate investors and you could learn a lot about becoming successful from him but what could he teach you about getting started as a real estate investor? Not much unless you are doing the multi million dollar deals and have the money and partners to back it.When looking for real estate investing advice make sure the person is an active investor. Would you want to get advice from somebody that has not been buying and selling for ten years? Would they know how to use the internet, www.craigslist.com, www.zillow.com and other online resources that make real estate investing much easier today then it was 5 or 10 years ago?

2. Start with Single Family Homes. Real estate investing can include everything from single family homes to multi-million dollar developments. The best place to start for the beginning real estate investor is with single family homes. Why? Simple supply and demand. Whether we are in good times or bad people always need a roof over their head. There is an abundance of opportunity in both buying and selling residential homes which makes this investing in houses the safest area to begin.
3. Learn how to buy wholesale. Early in my real estate investing career I was given this advice “You make money in real estate when you buy and realize the profits when you sell!” Learning how to buy at discounted prices is critical to your success and gives you a number of exit strategies. For beginning real estate investors wholesaling are where you can make money quickly without having to use your cash or credit. A quick example. Let’s say you find a house worth $200,000 and the seller is willing to sell the house to you for $150,000 cash if you can close quickly. You can pass this deal onto another investor for $160,000 and you just make $10,000 without using your own money. It happens all the time!

We started this article by asking the question “What is the best way for getting started in real estate investing?” Now I’d like to give you the short and sweet answer. Read the book “Real Estate Magic 101 – How To Get Rich In Real Estate Even If You Are Dead Broke!” There is no better resource for the beginning real estate investor. I personally guarantee it!