First time homebuyers can "stick their big toe in the water" of real estate investing as well as being a landlord by purchasing a mult-unit dwelling. You can live in one unit and collect rent on the remaining units to defray costs.

Investing in real estate does take some time and education to do it wisely. You must make sure that if you are buying "fixer-uppers" that you understand what you are getting yourself into before jumping into them. You don't want to end up buying a home that is going to cost more to fix up because of unseen problems than it is worth. If you are going to buy investment properties that are in average to above average condition at the time of the sales you need to make sure you know how much rent is going for in the area, how much rent you would need to get on a monthly basis so you are not losing money, and you need to calculate in for unexpected expenses. There are many times that a water heater may go, the furnace breaks down, a plumbing leak occurs, etc... and these figures need to be accounted and planned for accordingly. There is a great deal to make when becoming involved in buying investment properties, however caution and proper planning is highly advised.

When contemplating an investment property purchase, it is important to account for periods of time when the property will remain unrented, and to have sufficient financial capacity to be able to cover the mortgage payments onthis property even when it becomes unoccupied.