Some advise for the new guy in the BP fam?

Question

Hello BP!!!!,

My name is Alex and after countless hours of researching and learning from this awesome site(thanks to all that contribute in making this site what it is), ive finally decided to make an introduction and ask for some guidance from the Mr. Myagis of the BP family.

I'm 22 years old, from ontario california working at verizon wireless and have come to the conclusion that its time for me to make a move in a different direction that i am currently in. I have about $20,000 saved, great credit and trying to figure out how to best put this money to use. problem is there are sooo many ways to invest and i really need some advise at this point. I've been looking into wholesaling as i think this would be the best way to get my feet wet and really LEARN all i can while making and saving as much cash as possible. Ultimately the goal is to have enough money to realistically get into the rehab/flip aspect of REI. I've also looked into purchasing a rental as i know i can probably get into a property a little bit easier than say purchasing a rehab property.

If you guys could go back in time towards the beginning of your REI journey and were in my shoes what would you do? Just looking for some direction and inspiration to take me to the next phase of my life and hopefully be contributing to this site as much as so many of you do.

Alex Peou · Answer

Thanks for the the knowledge @BillGulley. All of that advise was exactly what I was looking for. Something to keep me in the right direction. In California it's pretty tough to find property with the budget that I have saved up right now. But knowing what properties to identify helps keep me on track. How difficult would it be to get a private money lender support if needed? Any thoughts on that approach?

Bill Gulley · Answer

I suggest you learn how to identify your market as the market will dictate where most of the business will be. To say I'll start in wholesaling is a flip of the coin, to make money doing that you need an invenotry of properties that can be purchased considerably under the ARV allowing rehabbers or others to make a profit or to sell off the landlords. You won't make much if that inventory as well as an economy that doesn't feed that inventory. Your limited resources will also dictate where you need to start, in Ca. not sure if there are foreclosures at 20K. With those funds, your target is 100K or less usually having at least 20% in conventional deals, getting more creative you could get into a more expensive property or more than one of less value. Don't know if you have 25K properties, but look to the financing possibilities and minimum loans made in your are.

You might be interested in tax liens, FSBO deals, Lease-Options and seller financing. Search those and see what lights your fire.... :)

Some advise for the new guy in the BP fam?

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