Is wholesaling the right start?

[Vince Mack]

Hey BP family, I’m a nob to investing. I’ve read Cash Flow Quadrant 3 months ago and was inspired. Attended a couple courses. Spoke to a couple investors doing what I would like to do. I’ve had the opportunity to buy a few properties. Then ANALYSIS PARALYSIS set in. What’s a good deal? What’s a bad deal? Everyone says “oh this is just one of those things you jump into”... So my question BP is should I start with whole selling to get my capital up? Once I’ve created some income, then should I start looking for foreclosures, passive income and more sophisticated strategies?

[Clayton Mobley]

@Vince Mack I'm going to agree with those here that have discouraged the wholesaling route. Not because you can't make money, you definitely can, but because (as @Nicole A. and @Joseph M. have said) wholesaling is A LOT more work than people think. If you're having trouble getting past the analysis paralysis stage of rental investing, you're going to have the same issue pulling the trigger on properties to get under contract. This is a psychological issue, not an REI one - you'll have this same hang up regardless of what route you go, everyone does in the beginning.

As was mentioned before, it sounds like you already have enough capital to start investing in rentals. So if your goal is to create some passive income from REI, I would say do the work to get over the paralysis and execute your original plan. Depending on how much capital you have currently, and whether you qualify for financing, you may be able to get a nice little portfolio of cash flow properties going.

If you decide that rental investing isn't the route for you, there are other passive investment options to consider. Again, wholesaling can be very lucrative but don't jump into that out of fear of pulling the trigger on a rental, because the fear will follow you. And definitely don't make the mistake of thinking that wholesaling is easy - it's a hugely saturated market pretty much everywhere and competition can be incredibly steep. If you're looking for passive REI income, wholesaling isn't the place to look.

Now, if you decide you want to get your hands dirty and have the time/interest/energy to put in that kind of grind, then maybe your goals have shifted and wholesaling would be a good fit. But based on your post it sounds like passive income is your end-goal and you're just trying to find the easiest route to get to it. And the easiest route, if you've got capital already, is to just start with rentals.

I think your next step should be to run some more numbers until you trust your gut a bit more. Get over the psychological hurdle and do what you set out to do in the first place.

Best of luck!

Clayton