How to Get Started
In Property Investing

Question: I am looking to get into the real-estate market for long-term financial gain. I am young (just out of college) and have no experience in homeownership or real-estate investing. Where should I begin my career? Also, where in Northern California should I plan to start?

-- Perrin, Rancho Cordova, Calif.

Perrin: The easiest way to get started investing in real estate is to buy a home to live in. The world's best financing will be available to you, including the opportunity to put little to nothing down. Live in the property for a year or so (a requirement of the financing), then rent it out, buying another home for yourself. Do this repeatedly (called "serial investing") and over 20 years you will have amassed close to a dozen homes, some nearly paid off. You also will have accumulated a substantial net worth and monthly income.

The area in which you live (near Sacramento) offers some of the best real-estate opportunities in California. You can still buy a good home in the area in the mid-$200,000s; check out fast growing Elk Grove.

What are you waiting for? For more information, check out my new book, "How to Get Started in Real Estate Investing" (McGraw-Hill, 2002).

-- Mr. Irwin has more than 25 years' experience as a Los Angeles-area real-estate broker. He is the author of more than two dozen books about real estate and is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable writers in the real-estate field. Mr. Irwin's most recent book is "Tips and Traps When Renovating Your Home," (McGraw-Hill, 2000).

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