Getting started in real estate investing doesn’t require a lot of capital upfront. With less than $100, you can begin educating yourself, building your knowledge, and taking steps to become an investor. While it will take more money eventually to buy investment properties, you can get the ball rolling without a large amount of initial funding.

How To Start REAL ESTATE With Less Than $100

Here are some tips for how to start in real estate with less than $100:

Learn the Basics of Real Estate Investing

Before you begin investing, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of real estate investing. There are numerous free and low-cost ways to start learning about the basics:

Read books – Visit your local library and check out books on rental properties, fixer-uppers, real estate terminology, and investment strategies. Books like “The Book on Rental Property Investing” by Brandon Turner provide a wealth of information for new investors.
Listen to podcasts – Podcasts are a great way to learn while on the go. Check out biggerpockets.com for real estate investing podcasts on all kinds of topics. Popular ones include “The BiggerPockets Podcast” and “Real Estate Rookie.”
Watch YouTube videos – There are a plethora of free real estate videos on YouTube. Search for channels like Graham Stephan and Meet Kevin to find videos on everything from analyzing properties to qualifying for loans.
Take online courses – Many investors offer low-cost digital courses to teach beginners the fundamentals. Kent Clothier’s Rental Property University has cheap online beginner classes.
Join Facebook groups – Search Facebook for real estate investing groups. BiggerPockets has groups for networking and asking questions.
Use free tools – Try out tools like the BiggerPockets Rental Property Calculator to run the numbers on potential investments. This can help you learn how cap rate, cash flow, appreciation and more affect your bottom line.

Determine Your Real Estate Investment Goals

As you learn more, start thinking about your investing goals. Determining your goals and ideal scenarios will help guide your strategies and decisions down the road. Ask yourself:

What type of real estate do I want to invest in? Residential? Commercial? Raw land?
Do I want to flip houses, buy rentals for ongoing income, or both?
What is my desired timeframe for holding properties?
What market or geographic area do I want to focus on? Where do I live or can easily travel to?
What budget do I have to work with when I’m ready to purchase properties?
How many hours per week can I devote to real estate investing?

Setting clear goals now will provide direction and help you create an actionable plan. Revisit your goals often as you gain more education and experience.

Understand the Real Estate Market Cycles

The real estate market operates in cycles, with periods of ups and downs. The two main cycles are:

Boom – Prices and sales rapidly increase. More buyers enter the market.
Bust – Prices fall as supply exceeds demand. Investors may lose money.

Within each boom and bust cycle, there are smaller fluctuations in supply and demand. Understanding long-term real estate market cycles helps set reasonable expectations.

During down markets, it’s harder to find deals and you may have to wait longer for appreciation. It’s important to factor in vacancies and repairs when evaluating properties in any cycle. Markets eventually rebound, so cyclical swings can present opportunities if you’re prepared.

Develop a Renovation Education

Rehabbing and repairing properties is part of real estate investing. To get comfortable with fixing up properties:

Watch DIY videos – YouTube has endless videos on home improvements and repairs. Watch videos on painting, flooring, roofing, plumbing, and more to gain hands-on knowledge.
Read renovation books – Pick up books like “The Complete Guide to Home Repair” by Black & Decker to build your renovation expertise.
Talk to contractors – Build relationships with contractors and ask lots of questions about timelines, costs, and More.
Gain hands-on experience – Start small – paint a room, install some new flooring in your current home, or repair a leaky faucet.

Developing basic renovation skills will come in handy when evaluating fixer-upper properties. Understanding how long repairs take and their likely costs is key.

Save Up for Initial Investments

Once you’ve built a base of education, it’s time to start saving up money so you’re ready to jump in when the right deal pops up. Here are some tips:

Build an emergency fund – Make sure you have 3-6 months of living expenses saved first.
Cut expenses – For 30 days, track all your spending to identify areas to cut back on. Reducing eating out, entertainment and other flexible costs can free up more money to invest.
Increase your income – Can you ask for a raise, find a side gig, or boost your freelancing hours? More income will speed up your investing timeline.
Save aggressively – Set a monthly savings goal and stick to it religiously. Transfer money to a separate investment account so it doesn’t get spent.

It will take consistent, diligent savings to accumulate enough for a down payment and closing costs. But the time will pass anyway – in 1-2 years you can have tens of thousands saved up.

Obtain Funding Sources

While you’ll likely need to save up your cash, investors often use other people’s money too. Here are tips for getting funding sources in place:

Build up business credit – Having an established business entity helps qualify for credit cards, loans, and lines of credit that can access at lower rates.
Ask private lenders – “Hard money” lenders provide short-term financing for rehabs and flips, using the property as collateral. Rates are often high but so is approval speed.
Explore crowdfunding – Websites like LendingHome let investors contribute to loans for real estate. This opens up more funding possibilities.
Talk to banks – Build relationships with bankers now – ask lots of questions and see what products they offer real estate investors. Getting prequalified for a loan will help you move quicker later.

Funding gives you the leverage to do bigger deals and close quickly. Having access to capital makes you a stronger buyer.

Claim the Real Estate Investor Tax Benefits

One of the most powerful perks of investing in real estate is the tax benefits. As an investor, you can legally lower your taxable income using:

Cost Recovery (Depreciation) – You can deduct a portion of your rental property value each year to account for wear and tear. This reduces your tax burden without any out-of-pocket expense.

Mortgage Interest Deduction – The interest portion of your rental property loan payments can be deducted from your taxable income. This directly reduces how much tax you’ll owe.

Operating Expenses – Rental property expenses like insurance, HOA fees, cleaning, management fees, and more all cut into your taxable income for the year.

1031 Exchanges – When selling a property, doing a 1031 Exchange allows you to avoid capital gains tax by reinvesting the proceeds into a new property.

Learning how to maximize real estate tax benefits will put thousands of dollars each year back into your pocket. A knowledgeable CPA who understands real estate is key.

Choose the Right Real Estate Niches

Wealthy investors get that way by diving deep into specific, profitable real estate niches. It’s better to become a specialist vs. trying to do it all.

Consider focusing on up-and-coming neighborhoods, FOR RENT Owner properties, or affordable housing units.

Here are some real estate niches with great upsides:

Vacation Rentals – Investing in vacation hot spots can earn hefty nightly rates from Airbnb renters. Hire a property manager to handle operations.
Student Housing – Renting to college students near campus provides consistent demand year after year. Buy near schools with higher enrollments and retention.
Security Properties – Many tenants will pay above market rate for properties with state-of-the-art security systems, secured access, and guard dogs.
Medical Professionals – Doctors, nurses, and other hospital employees often want to live near their work. Buy rentals in this niche near large hospitals.
Corporate Rentals – Some large corporations have housing allowances for employees and interns. They’ll lease in bulk if properties meet their criteria.
Affordable Housing – Lower-priced rents attract extremely high demand. Although profit margins are smaller, costs are also reduced.

Choose a niche that fits your market and provides ongoing tenant demand. Become a specialist in that area over time.

Join a Local Real Estate Investing Group

Connecting with an REI group in your area provides several benefits:

Networking – Meet active investors, lenders, real estate agents, and contractors. Exchange contact information to build your team.
Education – Attend meetings and hear the strategies local investors are using to find and fund deals.
Motivation – Interacting with like-minded investors will inspire you to take action too. It becomes contagious.
Deals – Some groups share off-market, fixer-upper deals that aren’t widely advertised yet.
Mentorship – You may meet an experienced investor willing to show you the ropes and answer your questions.
Job Opportunities – Get experience helping other investors with their flips or property management to gain hands-on education.

Use BiggerPockets, Facebook, and Google to find REI groups near you. Attend several to get a feel for each and choose one main group to regularly participate in.

Start Wholesaling Real Estate

Wholesaling is a way to get started investing with little upfront capital. It involves putting a property under contract and then assigning your right to purchase it to another investor for a fee.

For example, you get a distressed home under contract for $100,000 that needs $20,000 in repairs. You find an investor willing to pay the $120,000 fixed-up value and assign him the contract in exchange for an assignment fee of $5,000 paid to you.

Succeeding at wholesaling requires finding deeply discounted properties, estimating repair costs, and marketing deals effectively to buyers. But you can start this business today and make your first paychecks in as little as 30-60 days.

Invest “Virtually” in Real Estate

If you want exposure to real estate without owning physical properties, consider these virtual investing options:

Real Estate Crowd Funding – Websites like Fundrise let you buy shares of large commercial real estate projects and earn dividends.
REITs – Real estate investment trusts are companies that own and operate residential or commercial properties and trade publicly like stocks.
ETFs – Exchange-traded funds like VNQ and SCHH track baskets of REIT stocks and real estate companies. Invest in diverse real estate assets.
Hard Money Lending – You can lend capital to other real estate investors and earn interest secured by their properties. Rates often are 8-12%.

Virtual platforms provide passive income and diversification into real estate without the day-to-day responsibilities of landlords. You don’t need to wait – start investing in these platforms today!

Obtain Your Real Estate License

Getting licensed as a real estate agent allows you access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which provides early info on homes for sale.

You can look for off-market and fixer-upper deals, preview homes before they list publicly, and list/sell your flips for maximum profits.

Licensing classes are around 60-90 hours and cost $300-$1000 depending on your state. Many brokers even reimburse costs after you complete a few transactions.

Having an agent’s license provides critical data that gives you an advantage as an investor. Plus you can make commissions selling real estate on the side.

Start Building Your Dream Team

Real estate investing takes a team. Start compiling your list of preferred professionals you’ll work with:

Realtor – Find a buyer’s agent who specializes in investment properties. Interview several agents and look for ones experienced at pricing fixer uppers accurately.

Property Inspector – A quality home inspector identifies issues that let you renegotiate lower prices on purchases. Look for ones familiar with reading inspection reports.

General Contractor – For larger rehabs, a GC oversees the entire renovation process. Get bids from GCs experienced with cost estimators.

Handyman – For smaller repairs, hire a handyman you can count on to provide quality workmanship and fair pricing.

Property Manager – Eventually you’ll need a property manager to handle tenant screening, maintenance requests, and rent collection. Interview PMs to find one whose expertise matches your market.

CPA – Investor-savvy CPAs understand tax optimization strategies like cost segregation studies, entity structuring, and maximizing depreciation.

Insurance Agent – Your insurance agent can educate you on landlord policies, plus umbrella and title insurance for protecting your assets.

Mortgage Broker – When you’re ready to buy rentals, have a broker lined up who gets you access to the best rates and loan programs.

Building relationships with your dream team early allows you to hit the ground running when you close your first deal.

Join BiggerPockets and Utilize Tools

BiggerPockets.com is the web’s premier real estate investing resource and community. Join for free and you gain access to:

Forums – Discuss all topics from “Finding Deals” to “Raising Private Money” with over 1.5 million other investors
Blog – Read hundreds of blog posts with detailed, first-hand advice about every real estate strategy.
Marketplace – Find deeply discounted investing tools, courses, LLCs, and more deals in the Marketplace.
Podcasts – Listen to hundreds of hours of investing podcasts featuring world-class investors sharing their knowledge.
Calculators – Use the Fix & Flip calculator, Rental Property calculator, and more premium tools free.
Webinars – Watch on-demand video lessons on tax benefits, property hunting, financing, budgeting, and all other topics.

In addition to endless free content, BiggerPockets members get premium analysis tools, discounts on conferences/software, and advanced forum access. The collective knowledge of the BiggerPockets community accelerates your learning curve tremendously.

Conclusion

With some focused education, planning, and relationship building, you can begin investing in real estate with less than $100. Use this time wisely to set yourself up for success.

Consistently taking small steps forward each week will provide the knowledge and experience needed to close your first investment deals. Before you know it, your side hustle will start producing income.

Stay focused on your goals, be willing to learn, and surround yourself with the right people. With the right mindset and habits, anyone can become a successful real estate investor, even on a tight budget.

The opportunities are out there – now go make it happen!