How to Get Started in Real Estate (Without Going Broke or Crazy)

Quick Summary:

• There's no school for this—learn from books, YouTube, and hands-on mistakes.

• Save at least $100K before jumping in.

• Buy something close to home—30 minutes or less.

• Hire a property manager for your first deal.

• Treat your first property like a class, not a paycheck.

• Don't overprice rent—Aim for stability, not ego.

Step 1: There’s No School for Real Estate

If you want to become a doctor, you go to med school. Want to be a lawyer? Law school. But real estate investing? No school. You’ve got to piece it together.

That means books, blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos, conferences, and—most importantly—practical experience.

Experience is the best teacher, but you still need a base before you get started. If you haven’t personally gone through three or four real estate deals—even just buying your own home—you’re probably missing a lot of the basics.

So, study hard. A lot of what you learn will feel like review—maybe 80% of it sounds obvious. But the other 20% is gold, and it can save you from making big mistakes when you’re suddenly spending six figures and taking on debt.

Step 2: Stack Some Cash

You need money—more than you think. Forget what those “get rich with no money down” folks say.

You want at least $100,000 before you buy:

• $50–60K for your down payment

• $40–50K for repairs, holding costs, and surprises

Also—this part is huge—your first rental probably won’t come with a tenant. It might be a regular house someone just moved out of. That means it’s empty. And empty means no rent until you fix it up, clean it, list it, and find someone to move in.

Budget for that. Expect to spend time and money getting it rent-ready before it ever earns a dollar.

Step 3: Buy Close to Home

Distance kills learning. Your first rental should be within 30 minutes of where you live. Seriously.

You’re going to make mistakes—tons of them. You’ll fix stuff you shouldn’t, ignore stuff you should, and be chasing down problems at odd hours. That’s all part of the process.

But the further away your property is, the harder it is to learn. You’ll avoid going over. You won’t catch problems. You’ll spend more money and learn less.

Buy close. That one decision will teach you more than any podcast ever could.

Step 4: Hire a Property Manager

For your first property, you should hire a property manager—even if you plan to self-manage in the future.

Why? Because in that first year, you won’t know what you’re doing. A good manager will:

• Show you what issues come up

• Handle tenants and repairs

• Give you a front-row seat to how it all works

Even with a manager, if you’re doing this right, you’ll still be involved. You’ll be running around, solving problems, making calls. It’s messy. But that’s how you learn.

Step 5: Be a Student, Not a Rockstar

Don’t expect your first deal to change your life. It won’t. Think of it as Real Estate 101.

You might not make much money.

You’ll probably make mistakes.

If a tenant moves out, you could go a month or more with no rent, and it’ll feel awful.

That’s normal.

The goal of your first deal is to learn how this works, not to retire early. Focus on getting better. That will pay off more than any rent check.

Step 6: Don’t Chase the “Perfect Deal”

You’ll look at a lot of properties before you find one worth buying. And that’s good.

Run the numbers. Model different rent scenarios. Expect expenses. Plan for vacancy, repairs, and low rent months.

And when you do your math, don’t be optimistic. Be realistic. That’s how you protect yourself from surprises later.

Step 7: Price Your Rent Like a Pro

I made this mistake early on.

I overestimated the rent I thought I could get.

We priced it too high—and it just sat empty.

Don’t do that.

Trying to squeeze out an extra $100 a month in rent sounds smart—until your unit is empty for two months. That’s $2,000 gone.

Lower rent a bit. Get more applicants. Choose the best tenant. A great tenant at a fair rent will always beat a bad one paying top dollar.

And please—don’t trust rent estimates from realtors. Do your own research. Check listings. Talk to landlords. Be realistic, not greedy.

Final Thoughts

Getting started in real estate doesn’t take genius—it takes patience, planning, and willingness to learn.

• Educate yourself.

• Save more than you think you’ll need.

• Buy close to home.

• Hire smart help.

• Stick with the process. Learn from it.

If you do that, you’ll make it through your first deal smarter, stronger, and ready for the next one. And that’s how it starts.