Am I my own worst enemy when investing?

Question

What's up, Biggerpocket family?

I thought I would come here for advice regarding the dilemma I'm having. I'm looking to move forward with pursuing my goal of financial freedom through real estate investing.

For some background, I currently have a primary residence and a rental property. My primary residence was purchased as a foreclosure a year ago and only required cosmetic work. I'm in the final stages of completing a no cash-out refinance and discovered with the appraisal the home is valued at $80k more than the loan. My rental property is in its second year of being occupied.

The issue I'm having is finding what strategy makes sense for me moving forward. I've been analyzing this for years now. I read several books, listened to podcasts, attended a couple of meetups, and just recently got my real estate license. I looked into maybe applying for a HELOC and start with flipping to build up my liquid assets or going the hard money route. I eventually want to become a buy and hold investor with profits made from flipping. However, perhaps I'm overthinking all this and need to pull the trigger.

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Russell Brazil · Answer

Look at what strategies other investors in your area are having success with, then copy what they are doing. Dont worry about works in other parts of the country. Focus on what works where you are.

Andrew Syrios · Answer

Paralysis by analysis is a common problem in real estate investing (and many other things). I think you know what to do but are just overthinking it. What I call "Flip and Hold" seems to make the most sense for you and seems to be what you are leaning toward. Flip some to make money to live off of and for down payments and then hold every third or fourth.

Ned Carey · Answer

@Andre Jones there is no one right answer. Just keep learning and taking it one  step at a time> The more you do, and the more experience you get, it will make   your path more clear.

Account Closed · Answer

I was in the same boat for a while, I think the best thing to do is to take calculated action and to not over think too much. Once you get moving it'll be a snowball effect and have momentum and it'll be much easier!

Andre Jones · Answer

Thanks for the encouragement @Mel Anic.

Andre Jones · Answer

my apologies for the newb mistake with the @ I haven't figured that out yet.

Andre Jones · Answer

Thanks, everyone for your responses it does clear some things up for me going forward. @Andrewsyrios I believe the "Flip and Hold" strategy sounds appealing in what I'm trying to accomplish. Even though I have a significant amount in contributions that is readily accessible in my pension, I would like to build some liquid cash up with some flips considering my one rental is not producing enough cash flow at this moment.

Frank Geiger · Answer

There are a lot of investors that go this same route. Carson talks about the buy three: sell two, keep one strategy that you may be interested in. Obviously, you will be at a smaller scale starting out. The point is you aren't super confused and indecisive. Seems like you just need to find a mix of those two strategies that work for you. Or how one can feed the other.

Am I my own worst enemy when investing?

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