Let's talk beginner strategies... What and Why?

[Kyle Schellhammer]

I'm curious to learn what strategies some of you have found successful, and why do you think they worked for you? If you knew when you started what you know now, what would be your go-to approach for getting your first 5 deals? What would you set as your realistic timeline to acquire those 5 properties?

When I ask '...why do you think they worked for you', I'm genuinely curious to know what it is about you personally that you think made/would make a particular strategy successful. For example, at a networking event last year, a gentleman told me, "The best way to get started would be to plan on buying four properties per year, flipping and selling three, keeping one as a LTR." I don't know that I have the wherewithal just yet for flips, and I am not the most patient of people (I think I'd be better off buying a tenant-occupied property and immediately jumping into being a landlord, learning hands-on as I go).

So, would you go for fix and flips, new construction, short-term rentals, long-term rentals, commercial, etc.?