How To Become a Real Estate Investor

By Jordan Fabel •  Updated: September 9, 2021  •  8 min read  •  Real Estate
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Are you sick of working a regular job? Do you want to work for yourself as a real estate investor? This is a career path many have taken to make incredible wealth.

If you want to become a real estate investor, you need the right steps and tips. There are many things to learn. But, unfortunately, it’s not as easy as just going and buying a home, selling it, and making a profit.

There are different types of real estate you can invest in. Here are some tips you need to become a real estate investor and a few easy steps.

How To Become a Real Estate Investor

Tips for Becoming a Real Estate Investor

Learn to Speak the Language

There is a specific lingo in the real estate industry you will want to learn. Gaining an understanding of some of the most commonly used financial words will help. Some of the terms you want to understand include:

There are many more you will want to learn, as well. It can be helpful to look up some of the commonly used words in the real estate industry to learn the language better.

Know Your Numbers

Real estate investing is all about the numbers. You will likely use specific formulas to figure out if a property is a good investment. Successful real estate investors know their numbers well. Those that don’t know the numbers will likely fail as investors.

Constantly Be Learning

When you decide to become a real estate investor, you certainly want to make sure you’re always learning. There are workshops, free seminars, podcasts, books, blogs, and other ways of learning.

Taking the time to learn as much as possible will help you become a better real estate investor. Attend workshops, read the top real estate books, and listen to podcasts from top real estate investors.

Attend Workshops

One of the best ways to network and learn is to attend a workshop or trade show. There are real estate workshops, seminars, networking events, and trade shows throughout the year. Make sure you attend any events in your areas or in a location where you plan to invest.

Find a Mentor

If you can find a mentor to help you become a real estate investor, this is one of the best things you can do. A successful investor can provide advice and help you avoid costly mistakes. With a good mentor, you’ll be in better shape to become a real estate investor.

Get Some Real Estate Experience

Gaining experience in the real estate industry can help. Often, the best investors are those with experience as real estate agents. However, you can also gain experience by investing in real estate.

It’s important to realize it’s okay to fail, too. As an investor, you will learn the most from the properties you shouldn’t have invested in. Mistakes lead to learning lessons, and experience can help you become a better investor.

Question Everything

A good tip for just about everything in life, when you become a real estate investor, learn to question everything. As an investor, you want to find advice from sources you can trust. This means you cannot take everything you hear as truth. Question everything, and you will find great sources to provide advice when you need it.

These tips are just the start when you want to become a real estate investor. You need more than just a few tips to become successful. However, with these tips, you can start to create a plan, along with the steps below.

How to Become a Real Estate Investor in 8 Steps

Step #1 – Get an Education in Real Estate

An education in real estate goes a long way for those wanting to become real estate investors. While this isn’t a traditional career, you still need to learn the ins and outs of the industry.

Gaining the necessary knowledge can be done by taking courses, getting your real estate license, and soaking up information from other real estate investors. Coaching programs are great, along with popular investing books. Of course, you can get a degree in real estate, but it’s not necessary if you want to become an investor.

Some of the things you want to learn include:

With a good understanding of these topics, you’ll be ready to start investing in real estate.

Step #2 – Build Your Network/Team

The most successful investors have a strong real estate network around them. They have found people they can count on for different things. With a strong network, you can get the advice and help you need, no matter the issue.

Some of the people you want to add to your real estate network include:

With a skilled team around you, it will be easier to choose excellent properties for your investments.

Step #3 – Create a Financial Plan

There are different investment strategies you can choose from. Each one will come with a different type of financial plan. For example, someone planning to buy and rent will have a different plan than someone flipping properties.

Make sure you have a solid financial plan set up for your business. For example, as a real estate investor, you need to know how to get the financing to buy properties. Whether you will pay cash, take out a loan, use private lenders, use other investors, or even find hard money lenders, you need to know where the money will come from.

Whether you’re trying to use a strategy including house hacking, seller financing, or a way to buy homes with no money down, you need a financial plan. This plan should include your goals for investing and a closer look at the big picture.

Step #4 – Choose Your Investment Location

Where you choose to invest will make a difference. Whether you invest near where you live, across town, or in another state, you want to look at key factors, such as:

These stats will likely help you choose the right location to invest in.

Step #5 – Choose an Investment Strategy

Will you flip homes or rent them out? Choosing an investment strategy will help guide you to the right types of properties to buy. Some of the popular strategies include:

Any of these strategies can provide long-term success. Some investors will use multiple strategies.

Step #6 – Find Your First Investment Property

It starts with your first property. If you want to become a real estate investor, you need to buy a property. Whether it’s a single-family home or a multi-family home, it is up to you.

The strategy you choose will likely dictate the type of property you choose. So make sure you do a proper analysis and know your numbers before you buy.

Step #7 – Add More Properties to Your Portfolio

Learn from your first investment and add more properties to your portfolio. In some cases, you might wait a year or longer to add another property. However, most real estate investors will add multiple properties every year to their portfolios.

Step #8 – Manage Your Investment Properties

Whether you’re investing in rentals or flipping houses, you have to manage your properties. You might have contractors working on multiple homes at the same time. If you decide to rent properties, you can choose a property management company to help with the heavy lifting.

Regardless, you will likely have multiple properties to manage. Keep a close eye on each one and stay organized. Investors become successful because they know what’s happening with their properties and when to make a move.

If you want to become a real estate investor, start with these tips and steps. There’s quite a bit to learn, and the real estate industry isn’t the easiest for everybody to understand.

Get a solid education in real estate and keep learning as you go. You might make some mistakes along the way, but you’ll also gain plenty of experience. Investing in real estate can allow you to work for yourself and make a great living. Just make sure you have a solid plan before you start buying properties.

Jordan Fabel

Jordan Fabel

Covering different 'paths' that people's lives can take. Creative, foster parent, ticket dismissal, you get the idea. Exploring the requirements, certifications, exams, and obviously, approved courses along each path. I, personally, am the high school dropout son of two teacher parents. So how did I get here? That story is coming soon!