@Keith Burton Don't do anything. Stick it in a savings account. $2,000 isn't even close to the amount you should have in reserves. And that's not even addressing the potential for a down payment. Focus on building your career as a real estate agent.
I think that $2,000 isn't going to go very far, but if you start working with clients you may be able to save up a bit more and get enough for a down payment on either a flip or rental property in your area.
I agree with @Aaron K., you still need to save some more before diving in quite yet. Keep growing your client base, networking, learning, and saving.
I would recommend starting with a house hack or live-and-flip. There are a lot of great deals right now in Pontiac, you should be able to find something. Best of luck!
I agree with @Aaron Klatt. While there are low and no money down options, that's the easy part. You need savings to protect you from vacancies and unexpected repairs.
what about wholesaling? Do you guys recommend it or do you think I could put the $2,000 into my agency advertising for better returns based on the numbers.
@Keith Burton Don't do anything. Stick it in a savings account. $2,000 isn't even close to the amount you should have in reserves. And that's not even addressing the potential for a down payment. Focus on building your career as a real estate agent.
I agree that $2,000 won't get you much in terms of traditional real estate, unless you're getting creative with Subject-To or another low or no money down strategy. But to many people's points above, reserves are still critical so not sure if you have those outside of the $2,000 of investment capital.
Now if you want to start making money on that $2K today, you could also try P2P Lending. Sites like Lending Club allow you to lend money via unsecured notes (or partial notes) with as little as $25/per investment. Everyone's return will vary based on their lending strategy but I've seen a steady return between a 10%-12% with my P2P investments. Keep in mind these notes are unsecured so they're not collateralized by hard property but with such a low investment price point you can really spread out your risk. May be something worth looking into.
The recent Bigger Pockets book Set For Life comes to mind. If you don't have time to read the whole book, I recommend listening to the podcast that outlines the main points (episode 223) or search the blog for similar content. You will find advice about reducing your own expenses so your savings grows fast, being in a career that has opportunity for advancement (you are!), and early investing. I so wish this book was written 20 years ago! Best wishes!
$2,000 isn't even an emergency fund. Save up 6 months expenses, put them in a money market account, then you could start taking additional income and consider investing in ETFs or something to help you hit a down payment a bit more quickly.
Yes you can do wholesaling with no money out of your pocket . The key is to find good deals so look for off market properties,Pre foreclosure, tax lien, distress etc. Then with your fee you can get a good hml and do flips, then be on your own time do buy/hold , flips, owner”s financing. Possibilities are endless , you can also look into investing into tax liens & tax deeds