The new year has brought about a list of new goals for many people. On the top of my personal/financial list of goals is to continue my real estate investing by purchasing my first long term rental home. When I shared this on Instagram, it seemed that many of you had similar interests so I decided to put together a list of some of the resources that I have found most helpful to get started. I will include everything from very beginner resources to more advanced books and bootcamps to look into. Let’s dig in!
For the Beginners:
If you’re in the very beginning stages of considering rental properties and still need to work on your mindset around money or paying off debt (no shame!) this list is a good place to get started.
Books:
Rich Dad, Poor Dad – basically every investors “gateway drug.” It’s not specifically about real estate investing but definitely helps you get your mind in the right place.
Psychology of Money – Also not just real estate related but if you need a good slap in the face to address your spending habits, I enjoyed this one.
How to Invest in Real Estate: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started – If you aren’t sure what type of real estate investing you would like to do (flipping, long term, short term, etc.) then this is a great place to familiarize yourself with the options and learn from people doing it themselves.
Real Estate Rookie – An abridged version of the 90 day bootcamp offered by Bigger Pockets (which I highly recommend and will mention later!) This book will help you prepare to purchase your very first property!
Once you’re ready to think strategy:
The next step is to begin to think about your strategy for investing. Are you looking for immediate cash flow? Long term buy and hold? Maybe a short term rental is more your style. These next few suggestions will help you learn about various investing strategies and hopefully help you figure out which best suits your goals. There are also some resources for tax strategies specially for investors, as well as how to analyze a property its numbers.
Books:
The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor – a little more info on how to invest to capitalize on the tax benefits
The Book on Rental Property Investing – As you get farther into your research, this book will help you begin to put your plan together, including ideas on how to finance your goals.
Real Estate by the Numbers – A guide for how to analyze deals. I am currently reading this and the bonus spreadsheets are amazing. Email me if you need a link to them!
The Millionaire Real Estate Investor – Written by the king of real estate himself, Gary Keller, this book allows you to learn from over 100 millionaire real estate investors and what strategies serve them best.
Podcasts:
The Real Estate Rookie – part of the Bigger Pockets Franchise but addresses more entry level questions from finding deals, to financing, and more.
On The Market – From the BiggerPockets family, On the Market is a fun, fact-driven glimpse inside the world of real estate, personal finance, and economics.
BiggerPockets Real Estate – BiggerPockets’ largest and longest-running podcast breaks down real estate investing strategies that work—from deep-dive interviews to coaching calls, news analysis, and more.
Real Wealth Show – Learn how to build a portfolio outside the stock market with buy-and-hold strategies, single-family rentals, multi-family properties, syndicated deals, self-directed IRAs and 401ks, the highly-revered 1031 exchange, private money lending, creative financing, and much more in this podcast!
Bootcamps:
If you’re ready to really commit to your goals, I cannot recommend the Bigger Pockets Rookie Bootcamp enough. This 10-week bootcamp covers important topics like investing strategies, finding and funding deals, analyzing properties, making offers, and more.
Another great bootcamp to check out is the Rookie Landlord Bootcamp. This one is especially important if you are considering managing your new rental on your own!
Websites for research/analyzing:
Bigger Pockets – They have quite a few of free tools and helpful spreadsheets for analyzing deals. I have and use many of them so please reach out if you need assistance finding something!
Rentometer – This one is less reliable for rural areas but can offer info on current market rent rates for long term rentals.
Airdna.co – Data for short term rental rates and offerings within a certain area.
Myrentrates.com – This one can be hit or miss but you can enter a property address and it will give you a reasonable rent range to expect.
Rentrange.com – Property reports, metrics, and more! You will need to create an account to access most of these tools.
Furnished Finder – A helpful resource for those considering furnished mid term rentals to traveling nurses or similar professions.
Next Steps:
Once you’ve looked into the various real estate investment options and begin to think about your numbers, you will want to chat with a lender. Whether you plan to use your money or a partner’s, if you need a loan, you will want to start with a pre-approval letter in your desired price range.
If using a conventional loan (probably what you used to buy your current home), lenders typically require that your debt to income ratio can support both properties, that you have a 20% down payment, and that you have at least two months of savings in reserves. This can change with lenders but is a good baseline to have ready! Once you purchase your second investment property, you can use the income as part of your total income but this is typically not possible for your first investment purchase. (There are exceptions that we can discuss with your lender!)
After you have your approval (or while you are working on it), I can setup an MLS search for your desired parameters. We can also discuss the other strategies I have used for finding off market properties. If you’re ready to tackle these goals, head here to schedule a free consultation with me so I can help you every step of the way!
Stay tuned for part 2 with my favorite rules and tips for investing!
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