The number one question we get on the show is, "How do I decide what type of investing I should do?"  In reality the question is more like, "Who's educational product should I purchase?"

The fact is the most important part of investing is setting yourself up for success.  We have talked to a lot of successful investors.  We have also talked to just as many not so successful investors.  One common thread through all of their stories is they either chose or did not choose the activities they new they would be successful at. 

Those who had hiccups along the way, and I count us among those people, decided to pick a type of investing based on the wrong criteria.  We decided to do activity A because we bought an educational product and it sounded like it would be easy.  Or we bought a house a long way from us because it was a good deal.  We didn't spend the time first to decide if it was in our long term plan and if it served our needs.

So, getting started in real estate?  Why don't you start with the big question, Why?  Once you know that answer you can start to think more clearly about the how.  How is really a function of a bunch of different things but Lynn and I have broken it down for ourselves based on four criteria;

• Time - Just how much of it do you have?  There are 24 hours in a day.  How many of those are free for investing activities?  If you have small kids a job that takes a lot of hours then you probably don't have a ton of time.  Take that into account.
• Temperament - For me this is the key.  What is your personality?  It took us a while to realize that while it is important to step out of our comfort zone for success we also needed to do what we like.  We like talking to people and networking so sitting at a kitchen table with a homeowner and working through their issues is good for us.  If that sounds terrible to you then you need to rethink that strategy.
• Capital - So just how much money do you have?  There are no money down deals but they can still cost you in the end.  Having some extra cash is important in certain investing deals.  No cash at all?  Maybe wholesaling is the way to go.
• Credit - How much money can you get from someone else?  One great feature of real estate is leverage.  Isn't it awesome to have a bank give you a whole bunch of money for a house without having to put up the cash yourself?  Do you have that ability or do you need to partner with someone else with credit?

Once you have that down it is time to move on to getting connected and plugged in to the investor network.