Where do I begin?

General Real Estate Investing
1

Hello everyone!

I am, like so many, new to this forum and new to this market. I guess a little background would help.
I’m 25 years old and have little to no capital (I do work full time in sales so I do have money coming in) and unfortunately have done a number to my credit in my “development” years. :banghead

I have a deep interest for real estate, always have. I have worked in construction including two years of commercial electrical work so the good new for me is when I finally figure out how to get an investment property I want to flip I’ll be able to much of the work myself. I currently live in the Albany, NY area but am seriously contemplating the North Carolina area in the near future.

As for my plans in real estate I’m not too sure. Long term goal I want to become an investor. Shorter term than that I want to buy, rehab and sell, or possibly rent multi-family or single family houses. Immediate goal I want to get into either Bird dogging or whole selling or both. From what I have been reading, other than finding a hard loan, these are going to be my only viable options for starting out with poor credit and poor capital.

So I guess the underlying question from this rant is where do I begin? I understand much of the concept about finding leads, negotiate a contract and find a buyer. But how do I do that? Do I need special licensing? Do I need to get an attorney, contact a realtor, contact investors first? The problem is I’m not even a blip on the map at this point so I don’t no where to begin. Should I take some courses?

Any and all commentary or even criticism at this point would be incredibly helpful. I’m overly ambitious and motivated, I have good hands on experience and am a pretty good salesman so I’m ready to hit the ground running :biggrin Thanks all! :beer

2

Generally, most new investors fit your same profile. Lots of enthusiasm and energy, but light in the pockets. With this in mind, the advice you will receive is that the best way for someone to begin with that profile is either via wholesaling or lease options.
I definitely prefer the latter, as wholesaling is not nearly as easy as is often said. Options and lease options, on the other hand, are less risky, require almost no start up capital, and are a heck of a lot easier to get the homeowner to agree to.

3

We are seeing a rapid trend in the market that I believe is going to have a negative effect on wholesaling. Prices are rapidly increasing in many markets. Getting well below market value deals are becoming few and far between (unless you are in Florida). The markup from wholesaling is going to get smaller and smaller until the effort is not going to be worth the money.

You lack of cash is a hold back. I would recommend saving every red cent possible to get a down payment on your first investment property (even if that means you keep renting - which may cash flow better anyway). Once you get your first investment property (providing it cash flows well) then it will help you invest further.

Another option is to look for a fixer-upper that can be bought on a land contract. Land contracts require little money down and give you between 3 to 5 years to build equity and improve your credit rating before you need to pay off the seller and get a traditional loan.

So there is my two cents.