When you are just starting in your real estate journey like me, if can be extremely daunting to know where to start. There is so much information out there that you don’t know where to even look. I get it! Let me tell you where I started and if it helped me when I knew absolutely nothing.
If you do an internet search, a Facebook creep, or an Instagram swipe, you’ll likely see real estate “gurus” claiming major success for you if you just pay for this class or that course.
Buyer beware…. you don’t need to spend a fortune to start in this real estate game.
Bigger Pockets:
When you go to the Google gods and ask them to search for “real estate investing” for you, you will get a ton of information.
One of the first search results you will likely see is a site called Bigger Pockets.
Soooo…. I would definitely recommend clicking on it. Click!
I am very glad that I did.
The Bigger Pockets platform is free to use.
They have webinars you can sign up for for free. Some of the webinars have been great – very informative.
Other webinars have been more on the salesy side, trying to get you to sign up for Bigger Pockets Pro – something I’ll cover in the next section.
The forums section of the website is so incredible valuable. You can ask questions and network and meet other investors.
You can search the forums for older topics that you are interested in too. I use the search function a ton if I have a question on my mind. Guaranteed someone else has had that exact same question, and it’s pretty likely that someone before you has asked it in the forum somewhere.
You can find real estate investors in your area with the same issues you are having and connect with them.
I actually found one of my favorite local real estate meetups through searching on the Bigger Pockets forum!
I really like to be a bystander and read up on topics I am not familiar with. This forum is real estate gold.
Please please please take some time and go through the forums!
Bigger Pockets Pro:
Now here is where I have actually paid for something related to my real estate education.
I purchased Bigger Pockets Pro a few months ago and it has been one of the best investments I have made for my investing future.
Bigger Pockets Pro is just under $400 at the time I am writing this article.
But, after listening to one of the more salesy Bigger Pockets webinars I had been watching shared an awesome coupon code for those of us on the live webinar. So I got my year-long subscription for $312 (I think… but it may have been $317).
I 100% feel that it has been well worth the sticker price and I plan to renew my subscription when the time comes to renew…it’s that good!
So what makes Bigger Pockets Pro worth the money?
For starters you get all access to all of the Bigger Pockets webinars and videos, so you don’t have to catch them live.
Some of their videos have so much good information in them that I need to watch them more than once to soak up all the nuggets. You can do that with a pro account.
Secondly, the “tools” section of the site with their oh so amazing calculators!
I use the Rental Property Calculator every single day to practice running numbers on potential properties. Seriously every day.
Instead of having to calculate all these numbers and percentages on your own, you plug in information about the property in question and the tool creates charts, graphs, and info that you need to do a deep dive analysis of everything related to the property.
I also love the AirBnb Calculator where the tool uses AirDNA data to formulate how much potential income could come in from a specific property as a short term rental.
So instead of also having to pay for a subscription to AirDNA too, I feel that I get all the info I need right here in the Bigger Pockets Pro platform.
They also have A BRRRR calculator, a rehab estimate calculator, a fix and flip calculator, and a wholesaling calculator among other calculators.
The pro account also gets you landlord forms and agreements for the state that you are investing in.
Plus there is so much more that I have yet to dive into yet. I’ll update this article as time goes on and I get to play with more of the site’s features.
Real Estate Podcasts:
Real estate podcasts have come to be one of the biggest helps to get me feeling more comfortable starting out on my real estate journey.
Being able to hear other newbies struggle and overcome, shows me that if they can do it, I can do it too.
I can listen to them on my way to work, while painting a room, or while making dinner or walking my dogs. These podcasts are gold!
In fact, these podcasts have helped me out so much that I have written an entire article on my favorite, most-informative real estate podcasts out there and why you should listen to them too.
Find the real estate podcast list here.
Join Local Meetups:
Friend – I am an extrovert but the thought of going to a real estate investors meetup as a complete newbie was so damn scary.
I was terrified the first time I walked into that coffee shop and sat down at the table (after figuring out which group I was meeting up with! #embarassing!).
It is so worth it. Just do it – you will make incredible connections to those in your area, you’ll hear other’s trials and tribulations, and have knowledgeable ears to bounce your newbie ideas off of.
If you are in the Northern Atlanta area and want a friend to come with you to your first meetup, send me an email and we can see if we can make it happen!
What information did you use when starting out as a fresh new real estate investor?