If you’re a real estate enthusiast, then you’re most likely familiar with all the benefits and perks of investing in real estate. You’re also probably aware of the profits that can be realized in the real estate investing market, and you would like to have a piece of the pie as well.
Since real estate investing sounds like a perfect opportunity for making large sums of money and enjoying the financial freedom that most successful real estate investors have achieved, your next step should be to start walking the path towards becoming a real estate investor. However, even as a real estate enthusiast, you might not know exactly where to start or how to get into real estate investing on your own!
So, today I’m writing this article for all the real estate enthusiasts who are interested in learning how to get into real estate investing using these 5 simple steps.
How to Get into Real Estate Investing – Self-Learning
Your first step towards starting your own real estate business and getting into the real estate investing market will always be to accumulate as much knowledge and education about the real estate market as possible.
This means that similar to most other career choices or any money-making opportunities, your journey should begin with a book or a library of books that are related to real estate investing. There are numerous amazing and very informative books about real estate investing that anyone can read in order to learn about investing in real estate. There are also thousands of books on all matters related to real estate that can help you learn the basics as well as the more advanced aspects of the business.
If you’re not much of a bookworm and would rather read short and precise articles, there are also several online sources and blogs that everyone has access to and which can all be used for learning about real estate.
Don’t know where to start? Our blog section has 1800+ articles that are all related to real estate and real estate investing, and you can access them all for free!
However, if you’re looking for a less time-consuming and a more personal method of learning, your best bet might be to find a mentor to help you learn all there is about real estate investing. This mentor can be an individual with enough knowledge and experience in the real estate business to enable them to teach you from their experience. Mentors include experienced real estate investors, real estate agents, and brokers, or any professionals in the field who have the experience to pass on to you.
How to Get into Real Estate Investing – Choosing a Niche
Investing in real estate does not refer to a single method or investment strategy. There are several real estate investing strategies that will be available for you to choose from, and most of these strategies will rely heavily on the type of person you are, your strengths and weaknesses, and your goals for real estate investing.
Some of the most common investment strategies include investing in rental properties, fixer-uppers, or buy-and-hold strategies. However, there are several other strategies, including creative real estate investing, that might be more suitable for you based on your personal skills and characteristics.
Related: Top 6 Real Estate Investment Strategies
Choosing the right niche or investment strategy allows you to stay focused and to standout in the market that you’re most comfortable with and that you believe you have the highest chances of succeeding in. During your learning journey, you will come across most of these investment strategies and niches in the market, which should give you at least a basic idea of the right strategy for you.
How to Get into Real Estate Investing – Reading the Market
One of the biggest determinants of a successful real estate investor or agent is the ability to read the market and predict where it is going. Whether you’re learning from books or from a mentor, learning about the different indicators and signs to predict where a real estate market is headed is one of the most important skills to have in order to succeed in the business.
Related: How to Perform a Real Estate Market Analysis
There are a number of indicators that you should consider when reading a market to predict its future performance and whether it is a good idea to invest in it or not. These include:
- The market’s employment/unemployment rates.
- The market’s job growth and population growths.
- The market’s development projects.
- The average household income of the market.
These are but a few of the indicators that most real estate investors and professionals use in order to project the market’s performance and determine the investment opportunities that exist in it.
How to Get into Real Estate Investing – Deciding on a Business Entity
As a real estate investor, you will have the option of getting into the business as an individual or as a business entity. Before deciding on which one is best for you, it is absolutely crucial to learn about the options that you have available and choose what is right for you and your business.
For example, owning an investment property as an individual investor might be less of a hassle and easier to manage, but might pose certain risks such as placing your personal assets at risk.
Forming an LLC (Limited Liability Company) and owning an investment property as a business entity, however, can be a much safer choice and will protect your personal assets against any claims or lawsuits.
Related: The Advantages and Disadvantages of a Real Estate Limited Liability Company
There are also several other types of businesses that you can choose from, some of which are more suitable for certain types of investments and strategies than others. Before deciding on one, make sure to consult a legal advisor, a tax advisor, and a financial advisor on the best type of business entity for your individual investment.
How to Get into Real Estate Investing – Knowing the Tools
Finally, and before you start investing in real estate, you should definitely learn about the tools that are available to you in order to make your investment venture much easier.
Getting into real estate investing is a time-consuming task on its own. But it is nothing when compared to the time it takes to research the market, search for properties, analyze them, choose the right property, do the calculations, acquire financing, and close the deal.
While these steps combined could take anywhere between a few months to a few years, there exist a number of online tools and real estate investing websites that can help you throughout the different stages of investing and reduce the amount of time needed from several months to a few days, or even a few minutes.
Mashvisor, for example, allows you to research a market, search for properties, compare them, calculate the ROI, and decide on the best property to invest in a matter of minutes – a process which would typically take around 3 months from start to finish.
To start looking for and analyzing the best investment properties in your city and neighborhood of choice, click here.
Bottom Line
How to get into real estate investing?
If you follow these 5 simple steps, getting into real estate investing will become much easier and smoother. Keep in mind, however, that the process of learning does not end at the second step, but it should be an ongoing step where you seek any learning opportunities wherever they may arise, even after you’ve accumulated several years of experience as a real estate investor.
Learning how to get into real estate investing is not all about books and expert advice, but it should be about your will to learn and grow your business in order to achieve the highest profits that can be realized in the real estate market.
Finally, make sure to check out Mashvisor’s platform and learn about the different tools and features that can help you become a successful real estate investor in the shortest amount of time.