I’m a beginner in real estate I have no idea how to generate my first deal, so some feedback on how to complete a first one would be great.

Originally posted by @Robert Sierra :

I’m a beginner in real estate I have no idea how to generate my first deal, so some feedback on how to complete a first one would be great.

 It really depends how much you have to invest and whether you have already arranged for financing. It takes about 14 to 60 days to get financing in place. It could take a month or three months to find the right property. Then it's about 30 days to get the transaction through escrow. Or, if you have cash and the right property it's about 7 to 14 days.

depends how much money you have access to. 

call a banker apply for a mortgage 

Hi, Your question in the subject says how long and the words in the post says "generate" so I think you are asking how long it will take to start from nothing and complete your first deal.  

I think that question depends on your skills, knowledge, resources, and life experience. It will be different for everybody.

When I decided to start investing, I had a deal referred to me.  That property I bought in April and sold in October. It took so long and I didn't know what I was doing.  My second deal was a deal I found myself, raised money to fund it, and completed it. I think that took about 13 months.  6 months to find it and ~7 months to complete the rehab and sell it on the market.  I failed a lot. 

I suggest getting a mentor/coach or work for a small, medium, or institutional investor whether that is in residential or commercial. This will definitely speed up the learning process and help you make less mistakes.

 

@Robert Sierra , I am with Gi'angelo, I am not sure what your question means.  As a "casual" flipper that does it on top of a full time job and two kids, I average about 2 months from the sale of one house until I have found another worth buying, with a 14 day close with cash.  I have also completed 14 day closes with hard money loans.

Once I close, it is typically 3-4 months of rehab and another 30-45 days from contract to close on sale.  

As I mentioned, my wife and I are casual flippers so we typically only do 2 deals per year and have never wanted to run two rehabs at the same time.