I have no experience wholesaling but I think it is hard and that to be successful requires a significant marketing budget.
$20K is not much money, especially in San Diego
You have no experience.
Sounds like I am being pessimistic but not really because if your passion is RE I suggest you pursue it but consider alternate methods of pursuing the passion. Maybe look to get employment related to RE. Maybe a local RE agent needs an eager person that is passionate about RE to host open housed. Maybe a RE investor is looking for someone to do his book keeping. Maybe consider getting your RE license. Etc. Learn at the same time as you are increasing your savings.
When you have more savings, more experience, and a RE network, you will be so much better prepared to pursue RE on your own. Your chance of success would be much greater than if you attempted to pursue RE on your own now.
I have no experience wholesaling but I think it is hard and that to be successful requires a significant marketing budget.
$20K is not much money, especially in San Diego
You have no experience.
Sounds like I am being pessimistic but not really because if your passion is RE I suggest you pursue it but consider alternate methods of pursuing the passion. Maybe look to get employment related to RE. Maybe a local RE agent needs an eager person that is passionate about RE to host open housed. Maybe a RE investor is looking for someone to do his book keeping. Maybe consider getting your RE license. Etc. Learn at the same time as you are increasing your savings.
When you have more savings, more experience, and a RE network, you will be so much better prepared to pursue RE on your own. Your chance of success would be much greater than if you attempted to pursue RE on your own now.
First of all, best of luck! Thats exciting that you are looking to get started.
I do agree with @Dan H.. Esp on your money going the distance in SD.
What you do have going for you: low expenses. Your capital will not be degraded by your living expenses. So, hopefully you can direct the majority of it to your REI.
Yes, wholesaling is an option. That $20k could go a very long way marketing. But W-saling is harder than most lead you to believe.
Do you have mobile homes in your area? They are low cost of entry and can be cash cows. You could buy 1 or 2 of those and rent or even flip them for a quick profit. May have to go outside the city, or off the beaten path to find them.
Another option is investing out of the state. Frankly, southern california is such a high cost of entry locale. Maybe you can look at the midwest. I know some trepidation may exist for investing so far away, but there are some great companies to help and inexpensive properties to purchase. You may be able to purchase a small 2 BR out there for $20k. Or, you might be able to use this as a downpayment to purchase a larger property and secure a mortgage.
I would consider establishing a budget for what you've saved and determine how long that money will last you while you fully dive into real estate investing. Have you formed a budget yet? How long will that money last while you're going all in?
Another thing to consider is that however you plan to market to certain types of properties, there is a realistic time of 3-4 months before someone responds to your marketing, i.e., direct mail. Have you considered what direction you'll pursue regarding the types of properties you'll focus on and how you will market to them? How will that affect your budget?
I agree with the others that San Diego is a high priced market, but it's not impossible to succeed. I got lucky and found a vacant house in Pacific Beach that the owner wants to sell ($1M), and I have not had any responses from my emails or direct mail to him. I found that property 2 months ago.
As @Dave Rav said, wholesaling is tough, especially in San Diego and I can attest to that because I was there for the past year. (I've moved back to Southeast Texas as of yesterday, but if my financial situation were in a much better position and I had a much better job to help support my real estate investing efforts, I'd probably still be there).
In addition, as it has been suggested, join a real estate networking group and begin to introduce yourself and get to know others who are investing in the San Diego area. You can find a few groups on Meetup.com like the San Diego Investment Club, SD Outback Real Estate Investor Network, or the SD REI Social.
Lastly, what will you do if you haven't closed a deal and you've exhausted your funds? What will you do next? That might be something to consider as your Plan B, if Plan A doesn't work out as planned because everything doesn't always go as we think they should.