Real Estate as a Hobby, What Do I Need to Learn?

**sethro5hc** · 02-25-2010, 05:43 AM

I'm looking to get into real estate, but just 1 or 2 houses here or there, purely as a part time thing.

As a background I'm 24, graduated from GT with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and work full time Mon-Fri as a mechanical design engineer.

I'm pretty intelligent, can teach myself anything, and I really like crunching numbers (not that that means anything).

Anyways, I figure that in about 3 years with my projected salary, I should be in a place to buy (or design and have built) a house that would be almost exclusively for rent. I live in the southeast where college towns are abundant and IMO, if you do your research correctly you can get a house in a college town and have it filled with renters 12 months a year, every year. I also go with my family to the beach every year, and we frequent beaches that have a lot of golf, and a lot of shopping. Because of this they're beaches that people still go to in the fall and winter, meaning beach houses down there are rented 52 weeks a year (although the rates obviously change).

As a matter of fact, the beach house my family stays in (my whole 42 person family), is owned by a 27 year old guy who borrowed money from everybody he knew, built the house, and has never had to pay a dime on it since because of how popular the area is.

So to the point, like I said in about 3 years I'll be in a position to purchase (or build) another house, what should I learn in that time period, so that I really know the details of what I need to look for and what i'm getting in to? Are there are licenses I should go after? Keep in mind I want to keep my current career as an ME, this is just strictly something that would be a hobby and a way to bring in a little extra cash. So what should I learn, what books should I read, what course should I take, etc. etc.

In other words, being professionals in the industry now, what would you do if you were 24, didn't know much about real estate but were curious and intelligent enough to learn, and knew that in 3 years you'd be in a position to buy a rental property?

**PreviewOrangeCounty** · 02-27-2010, 09:28 AM

Learn the inventory, prices, sales price vs list price, rental prices, rental history, vacancy factors

**minnesota-mls** · 02-27-2010, 12:36 PM

Thanks so much for your post. I certainly hear where you are coming from and agree with the other reply.

Gain as much knowledge as you gain by studying the market, prices, etc.

I would say this from our team's experience here in Minnesota. This is a very, very tough job to do part time. It can be done, but really in order to succeed, agents have to be willing to dive in to this.

I wish you continued success as you look to learn more about the business, etc. It is a great time to be a real estate agent !!

**rehablist12** · 03-02-2010, 06:30 PM

As what the they say,. continue studying,never stop learning, coz education is the foundation of all successful business, having a mentor to guide will also help you learn and gained knowledge in real estate.

**andrewsmith** · 03-02-2010, 08:57 PM

There are manifold of the items to learn for the real estate. But in real estate whatever you learn that must be useful and unique which are useful and unique for all the things.

**First Time Home Buyers** · 03-04-2010, 11:01 AM

I would decide whether you want to be licensed or unlicensed. This will determine what you do from the beginning. There are pros and cons of both sides, so research the differences by reading blogs, articles, books, etc.

Just to be clear, real estate is a MAJOR "business". Those doing it for a "hobby" rarely find "success".

If you goal is to sell 2 homes a year, that's not hard to do as a licensed agent. But imagine talking to a buyer or seller and they ask you "how many homes have you sold in the past year" and you reply with "2". Do you think they are going to want to trust you with this huge financial transaction?

To be honest, I wouldn't want to work with an agent who doesn't sell at least 1 home a month. The reason being that agent probably doesn't know as much as an agent selling multiple homes per month. The more you do, the more you know, the more you can help them with the purchase or sale.

Not trying to discourage you, just telling you the facts.

Ryan said it best when he said part-time is hard to manage in the real estate business.

Good luck!

**newwe** · 09-05-2010, 10:45 PM

Please Make some Website on Real Estate and make your hobby more interesting for web design contact me at onecoolseo at gmail

**bongoko** · 09-06-2010, 12:59 AM

You must have knowledge on this field about the business cycle of real estate and the do's and dont's.

**Jennifer USA** · 09-07-2010, 03:07 AM

Run your business like a business. Have a marketing plan and a budget, and continue to educate yourself. There are a ton of real estate agents out there who are having fantastic success in "this market" and are willing to share their ideas and experiences if you are willing to listen. we provide complete assistance in real estate business. Homes For sale, Homes for rent,foreclosure.

**gotlivechat** · 09-15-2010, 07:06 PM

Not sure you need any type of licensing, but joining various "landlord" forums should give you an idea what you're in for. There are tax and legal implications of being a landlord. Your legal "set up" will somewhat dictate how your taxes will be handled.
For instance, you buy the rental in your name and then you can just do a Schedule E for the IRS. But if legal problems arise, your personal assets could be in jeopardy.
But a rental property and put in a LLC and you should have good legal protection but then it may change the way you report expenses/income to the IRS.