Real estate investing has created more millionaires than any other industry. But while it does have plenty of opportunities, it can take some time to achieve real success. Like everything else in life, becoming successful in real estate investing is going to take a lot of work. If you’re thinking about getting into real estate, you’re probably wondering how long it really takes to become successful.  Let’s dive in, shall we?

Why It Takes So Long to Become a Successful Real Estate Investor

Real estate investing is not buying a REIT or lending money to another investor. It refers to the purchase of real estate as the direct principal party. It’s a lot easier to buy a REIT, loan money, or invest real estate mutual fund, but you won’t make nearly as much money or be able to take advantage of the benefits that come with the direct purchase of real estate.

To buy real estate, you will need:

• To figure out what type of investing you want to do.
• To determine how much money you need.
• To figure out where to invest.
• To find properties and purchase them.
• To repair the properties if it’s necessary.
• To sell or manage the properties.

It may seem like a lot. But once you learn how it all works, it’s very doable. It’s harder than many other investments, but the results you can get may be worth the effort.

How Long It Takes to Prepare to Invest

Real estate investing takes time to learn, and the same is true for the preparation. It can take a while to learn what you need to do and how to do it, even if you’re in the industry. You will have to do some research into different investment strategies, which can take several months. You then have to decide how you want to invest. You will also have to research your local market and figure out what you can make on each property. If rentals don’t work in your area, you may have to look at other markets which will add an additional layer of risk.

All of this may seem like a lot of work, but any type of money-making opportunity is going to take time and effort. If you’re serious about real estate investing, you should be spending the time to learn how it all works. You can spend years going to school and learning a career, so you can get the skills you need to become successful. Real estate investing is no different.

The Time it Takes to Learn Each Type of Real Estate Investing

It takes time to learn how to invest in real estate, but it can vary with each type. Here are some of the common types of real estate investing.

House Flipping

It can be risky to get into this type of real estate investing, and it takes time to learn. A lot of people get into house flipping without spending that much time learning about it, and it shows. While you’re more likely to make mistakes when you’re starting out, it’s not the worst real estate investing strategy. You just have to understand that you may lose money and are paying for an education. Some of the best flippers have lost money on their first couple of deals.

If you want to get into house flipping, you should learn a little about it before you get in. Learn about what the costs are and what kind of financing options are available. You should learn about your market, and you should never put blind trust in other people. It can take at least six months to do the proper research, read books, and watch videos before you can really be comfortable. After that, it may take a few months to find a deal. Then, it could take at least another six months to repair and sell it.

Rental Properties

Managing rental properties can take even longer to learn than house flipping, and the markets can vary. You can flip houses in any market. But with rental properties, you have to look at the rent to value ratios in each market. While it may take longer to learn about rental properties, it should take about the same amount of time to fix up a property and get it rented.

If you already have a property, you may think it’s easier to rent a home than to sell it. But in today’s crazy market, it can take a lot more time and effort. You also have to think about the management of the rental property, which you don’t have to worry about when you’re flipping houses. You will either have to learn about property management or find a property manager for the places you’re renting.

Real Estate Wholesaling

Real estate wholesaling is when you find a deal, get it under contract, and either assign it or use a “double close” to sell it to another investor. One of the advantages of wholesaling is that you don’t have to repair the properties or even manage them, which can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to make money on them. The profits for each deal are usually smaller, but it takes just as long to learn how to wholesale real estate.

Wholesaling is often taught as a “get rich quick” business that can make you millions of dollars with very little money, but that isn’t the case. It takes time to build any business, and you’ll have all kinds of ups and downs along the way.

The key to becoming a good real estate wholesaler is to find great deals. They have to be better than what you need for house flipping or becoming a landlord, because the wholesaler needs to make money as well. It also takes time and money to find these deals. And while you might be able to start wholesaling right away, it can take at least six months to learn the business. After that, it can take months to find that first deal.

How You Can Get Started Faster with Less Risk

At this point, real estate investing may seem like a lot of work. But that’s true for anything worthwhile. Real estate has been proven to be one of the best ways to build wealth, but there is a way to shorten the time it takes to learn about real estate investing. One way is to buy an investment property that you can live in at first. It takes some sacrifice (which isn’t something that everyone is willing to do), but it can give you a great head start.

Other ways that you can jump-start your journey into real estate investing include:

• Finding a deal that can be financed with an owner occupant loan.
• Buying the house and living in it for a year or for whatever time is required by the loan.
• Slowly fixing up the place (if it’s needed) while you’re living there.
• Selling or renting the house and repeating the process.

Owner-occupant loans come with a lower down payment, so it will allow you to get into real estate investing sooner. You won’t have to spend that time saving money, and you’re killing two birds with one stone. You’re living in your investment. And if things don’t go the way you plan, you still have a home.

You can also buy a house to live in without learning as much about rentals or flips. It’s still a good idea to learn as much as you can, but it’s a lot less risky to try it on a house in which you’re currently living. You’re not under pressure to sell or rent it right away if things don’t work out.

Final Thoughts

It can take a while to become successful in real estate investing. It may even take a year or more before you buy your first property, but you shouldn’t lose faith in yourself or the process because it takes a lot longer than you think to become successful.

If you would like to know more about how you can become successful as a real estate investor, be sure to reach out to Trevor Shakiba at Shakiba Capital.