Starting wholesaling in Northern CA....Tips and Answers Please!

[Ronnie Galindo]

Hello All,

This is my first post on BiggerPockets and I am excited to get to know some of you and gain more knowledge. I heard about this website from reading (listening to) "The book on investing in Real Estate with no (and little) money down." Before I get too excited, I have some questions and ask for any tips for a newbie getting into the business.

First: I have spoken with many financial planners and they say to have 3-6 months worth of bill money in a savings account before even venturing into investing, currently My wife and I don't even have one month (we used our savings to pay off all debt). We could have 4 months worth of bill in a years time. Should we wait until then to start moving into inventing into Real Estate or is now the prime time?

If starting now is a good idea, I was thinking wholesaling may be the best for me to start in due to my low amount of free flowing cash (as in I do not have any really saved up). From people who have done wholesaling, is this a full-time job/Venture? Currently I am a Peace Officer and my wife is a School Counselor so as you can imagine, we both are very busy and aren't looking to give up our careers (retirement is too good!). Can we do wholesaling without quitting our day jobs?  

The market right now is golden with increasing times in the near future but we all know the crash is coming. Would it be better to wait for that time and stash away a hefty amount of money so when the timing is right we swoop in and pick up several properties at once? (Leaving wholesaling behind to get into buy/hold investing).

Anyone in the same boat (great day job but looking for that supplemental income/investing potential) have any tips on how, what, when to start and get the ball rolling?

Any information helps and I look forward to networking and learning from you all!

Thank you for your time and input!

-Ronnie