Analyzing First Time Investment Oppurtunity

[Ryan Brantley]

Hi everyone,

Quick intro/background on me and then I'll get to the meat of the post:  I'm a healthcare technology entrepreneur married to a real estate agent.  We've been married for 5 years and have collectively been investing in our businesses and the stock market.  Currently, we're ready to diversify further into real estate by jumping investing outside of my wife's RE business.  We think we initially want to look into buy-and-hold rentals and possibly flips if the opportunity presents itself.  I've been lurking on this site for about a week since reading about it in the Entrepreneur Magazine article.  Now I'm posting for some general first-time investor advice.

I have a couple of questions about how the folks with experience on here got into their first property.  My specific questions are:

• What was your approach to finding your first property?  What were the key attributes for you?  Price? Long-term upside? Location?  Single Family?  Attached?
• How did you approach the deal from a financial perspective?  100% cash?  100% financing?  Bank financing? Private loan?  If you had multiple options for the financial structuring, what was the ultimate deciding factor on pulling the trigger on that structure?

I guess what I'm really looking for is an understanding of how seasoned and experienced investors approach opportunities.  I know there are a lot of factors, but as with any venture, I want to put together a sound strategy for jumping into the market.

Thanks!

Ryan

[Curt Davis]

When I decided to buy my first 2 properties I purchased in areas where I knew my clients were having success.  I then looked at the cash flow.  I used hard money to purchase, renovate and then refinance into bank financing.  

So I guess you could say I was looking for deals that worked using hard money in decent areas and decent cash flow.