In this instructional YouTube video, seasoned broker and investor Joe Homs (over 40 years of experience) shares his top recommendations for beginners entering real estate investing. He begins by highlighting the book Money Dynamics by Vinita Van Caspel, noting its broad coverage of financial topics and its particular relevance to real estate. He then points viewers to two essential online resources: BiggerPockets.com, a vibrant forum where newcomers can ask questions and receive answers from experienced investors worldwide, and Peligo.com, a specialized platform offering automated property comps, rehab cost estimators, and flip profitability calculators. Homs stresses the importance of local networking, describing his own monthly meetup in Lake Forest, California, which consistently fills a small venue with like‑minded investors. Throughout, he encourages immediate, hands‑on learning—advocating that the best education comes from taking action, using the recommended tools, and engaging with the community. He also cross‑references a related video on live‑in flips and invites viewers to reach out for further help.
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In today's video, we're going to talk about the best resources for new investors coming up next. In the internet age, there can be so much information, it could become daunting trying to figure out where to start. I am going to give you some of my recommendations for the best places to start your real estate investing journey. Before we start, I want to welcome all the new members to the channel. You guys have been asking some really great questions. You guys have been asking some really great— you guys have been asking some really great questions. Learn from my over 40 years as a broker, mentor, and investor by subscribing to this channel. Let's dive right on in. Let's talk about one of the first books that I read, and it's titled Money Dynamics. It's by Vinita Van Caspel. And I read this over 40 years ago, but it was just so enlightening. It talked about the stock market, it talked about insurance, it talked about real estate investing, it talked about gold and silver, talked about really about everything. But for me, what actually clicked was the real estate investing. The next 2 websites that I would recommend, number one, biggerpockets.com. BiggerPockets is an online forum It is absolutely fantastic. It's a place that new investors can go in and ask questions of experienced investors. And people chime in from literally all over the United States and even all over the world on a particular question that you may have. So that would be the first website that I would check and I would recommend. The second website is if you're a flipper, I would recommend Peligo. P-E-L-L-E-G-O dot com. Pelago is a fantastic website. It's got all the tools there ready for you to use. You literally put the address in; it figures out all the comps for you. The next tab goes into the rehab, and you can go from a light rehab to a heavy duty rehab. What depending on what it is, you put that number in. Then you go to the next tab, which is the flip tab, and it puts all that information together. It gives you what the purchase price. Is going to be. So if you like, if you get it from a wholesaler, let's say it's $600,000, you would punch that in there. You've already got the after repair value because that's the comps. And then it goes in through whether this is going to be a good flip and you're going to make money at the end of the day. So it has all the calculations there ready to go for you. It's a fantastic website. The last thing I would say is networking. And networking, I mean, go to local meetups. I have one that I put together here in Lake Forest, California, and we meet once a month on the 4th Monday of each month. I've got a small room and it's literally packed to the walls every month. Anyway, this is a good place to network with other like-minded people that are doing what you may want to do, whether it's flipping, buying and holding, buying out of state, Using your IRA, whatever it is that you're looking to do real estate related, those are the places that you should be going and meet up with people and talk to them and exchange information. Whatever platform, book, or meeting you decide, it's important that you start right away. The best way to learn is from actual experience. So the more action you take, the more you're going to learn. If you're interested in flipping homes, then click on this video right here. You'll find out if a live-in flip is the best option for you to begin with on your journey. As always, feel free to reach out. I'm here to help you.
