Since I get over 1,000 real estate investors coming to my various real estate investor websites and registering with me each week, as you might expect, I get quite a few people asking me how to get started investing in real estate.

When my business was smaller and I was just running my own real estate investing business and our local real estate investor group meetings, I used to sit down and meet with investors that asked me this question individually. We’d go to lunch at my favorite burrito place and I’d ask them many questions.

I’d want to know about why they wanted to invest in real estate, what they expected to get from it, how they thought they’d be making money as a real estate investor, how much time and money they planned to invest in themselves and their real estate investing business, what their business and investing experiences had been so far, and so on and so forth. After a couple dozen of these meetings though, I noticed a pattern in what I suggested to each of them (and yes, it really took that many meetings for me to notice this pattern): I suggested that each one of them get started wholesaling real estate.

After I told them that they should wholesale real estate first, I’d then run down–very haphazardly–a list of the things they needed to do to get started in their real estate investing business. A few years have passed since those first meetings and the first time that I made a quick list of how to get set up investing in real estate. Over the years, I’ve had quite a few people get started in the business based on those meetings with me. So, in this article, I’d like to share with you my Business Setup Checklist for Real Estate Investors.

In the Business Setup Checklist, I am not going to have you spend tons of money at first to lease an office, purchase expensive computer equipment and otherwise commit to lots of expenses with no proven income from your business. Instead, I will share with you what I believe to be the most important things to do and to purchase to get started in your own real estate investing business.

First, I believe you need to take time to sit down and decide where you are going. Stephen Covey says, and I agree, that you should “Begin With The End In Mind.” It is much easier to accomplish a goal if you know what you are trying to accomplish. Please, do yourself a favor, and don’t skip this critically important step.

Second, setup, or at least figure out, the minimum telephone communication system you will be using. Many times, it will be using your cell phone (and changing the message from something unprofessional to something more business-like). Of course, there is a wide range of telephone services you can setup. Start very basic, spend very little and expand as revenue increases.

Next, I am a big believer in using 24 hour recorded information lines in my marketing and so I do recommend paying the money to get this set up. With these, you can spend less on marketing and then have people call in to get more information about buying, selling, renting or private money before talking directly to you. You’ll be tempted to bypass this step and use regular voice mail (remember I’ve helped lots of other people get started investing in real estate) and that would be a mistake.

The next step is the MOST IMPORTANT step of all: get your marketing and get it out. Nothing happens until you start talking to motivated sellers in this business, so you need to get them to call you (or start calling them). So, take some time to figure out your basic marketing. Depending on your budget, you may also consider getting a website and bandit signs at this point as well. If you are on a tight budget, use the free website route and skip the bandit signs until later.

Once you have your marketing and are starting to get it out, you should then be getting organized and ready for seller calls. Make your Seller Presentation and Credibility Pack. Setup your office files to track income and expenses, marketing files and property files. Also, make sure you have the files and forms you need stored in your car. You never know when you might need to write up a contract and better to have them with you in your car at all times, then to miss out on a deal.

And finally, set up your business entity. The reason I recommend this last is because most people will stall on this step and unless you have assets to protect, it is a mistake to get hung up on it to begin with. If you have significant assets to protect, you should meet with your personal attorney at the start of any new business to get personalized, professional advice relating to your unique situation.

So, those are the basic steps to setting up your real estate investing business.

At over $20 trillion in size, the residential real estate market has a substantial influence on the U.S. economy. In fact, the single-family home market is several times larger than the entire commercial real estate industry.

But investors often ask whether residential real estate investing is better than investing in commercial real estate?

The answer is – it depends.

Each investor has a different skill set as well as vastly different financial resources. In addition, investors have varying backgrounds and interests. Money can be made with both. The investor needs to do what works best for them. Residential real estate investing may be the best choice for many, but not all investors.

There are many advocates of commercial real estate investing, but there are a couple of reasons that I generally favor residential real estate investing over commercial real estate.

First of all, an important factor that distinguishes residential real estate investing as compared to investing in commercial real estate is that the pricing of single-family homes is often driven by inefficient information. This means that pricing and market data is incorporated at a slower rate into the marketplace as compared to commercial real estate. This can enable the astute investor to better analyze price movements and allow for improved market forecasting.

Residential real estate investing is largely dominated by single-family residences that have fewer sophisticated buyers and sellers. With commercial properties, there are many more institutional investors with extensive market experience. Accordingly, locating a good deal may be much more difficult in commercial real estate as compared to residential real estate. Investing in commercial real estate is generally dominated by skilled professionals, who have more financial resources than the individual investor.

In addition, the demand for residential real estate continues to increase. This demand has been fueled by many factors, including population growth and baby boomers. The population is growing while available land remains relatively constant.

The Baby Boomers, which consists of people born between 1946 and 1964, are reaching their peak earnings age and have more disposable income than any previous generation. This population, measured at approximately 80 million people, continues to increase demand for housing (including second homes) in cities that offer many desirable amenities including affordable health care, a favorable climate and cultural and recreational activities.

Now I’m not saying that money cannot be made in commercial real estate. But for the average investor, residential real estate investing is generally a better investment vehicle. The investor needs to look past the current residential real estate slowdown and realize that in certain markets now is a great time to be investing in residential real estate.