Help investment real estate?

I am really interested in investment/residential real estate. I just started taking classes for real estate any tips or pointers or information you can share on how to get started in residential real estate?? I really want to own a lot of apartments and condos. However, is single family homes better to start off with??? So, I'm looking for any advice on how to get started inresidential/ investment real estate???

I've been investing in real estate for 25 years. It's not as easy as Carlton Sheets makes it seem. Now is NOT the time to be buying. Most of the investors I know, including myself,have been dumping all their real estare for the last couple years. Prices will continue to drop probably for 2 more years before they hit bottom. All my cash is in the stock market right now. When real estate bottoms in a couple years I'll get back in.

I could tell you everything you need to know, as a realtor, a contractor, a landlord, and a slumlord. But like I said now is not the time.

The best advice I can give you now is to save your money, build some good credit, and keep an eye on the average selling prices in your area. They should keep going down for a while. When they start to turn up, that's your signal to jump in. Cash is king. Put down as little money as possible for each purchase. That will enable you to buy more property. As prices continue to climb, your equity will rise exponentially.

For someone new to RE investing, I think single family is the best place to start. After you get a few transactions under your belt, then start looking at multi-family if you want.

Whether now is a good time to enter the market, depends on where you live. I'm glad to see that you are taking a class before jumping in. I also highly recommend that you look to see whether there is a local real estate investment club in your area. Here's a link to a real estate club directory: http://www.creonline.com/real-estate-clu... It's good to get to know people who are already doing what you would like to be doing. You might even be able to do some bird-dogging for an experienced investor for awhile which is how some people get their start. Here's an article on bird-dogging: http://www.relocate-northwest-arkansas.c... I hope some of this will be helpful. Good luck.

Re: classes:
Try joining a freebie RE club website. I use reiclub.com. They have a lot of mp3 that I can get valuable info from. Also, a lot of books are on this subject. I would not recommend fishing out a bunch of money on classes.

Capital:
Do you have enough capital? If not, look into wholesaling. If you are handy, look into rehabbing.

Residential:
All depends on where you are. Texas cash flows on many homes. Cali does not. Tx appreciates poorly. Cali is negative depreciation. I started off with single fam homes. I had to sell off my condo because the area turned for the worse.

I recommend a book:"Building wealth one house at a time..."