All Forum Posts by: Harley Palaganas

Take a look at your current financials. What expenses can you cut? How much are you saving every month? 10% is a good start. Evaluate deals every day even if you don't intend to buy right now. This will give you the knowledge to know the right one when it comes around. Build a strong foundation and don't rush into a bad deal. Read a ton. Good luck.

@Harley Palaganas - As others highlighted here already, get out and network. Spend the next few months focusing on networking and education. Dable in each of the areas you are interested via YouTube/BiggerPockets and then narrow down. 

Keep in mind wholesaling is not investing, it is a job and not an easy one at that. Unless you are willing to fully commit as if it were a full-time job, then you will likely find yourself frustrated and discouraged with real estate. 

As far as your first rental property, you'll hear this over and over again... House hack. 

You need to connect with some lenders to start out and get an idea of where you are at in the qualification process. If you can't qualify for what you need right now, most good lenders will set you up with a plan to get you where you need to be. 

Reach out to me if you want to practice analyzing deals sometime or have specific questions about getting started. I'd be happy to get on a call to get you moving forward. 

Good luck and keep at it! 

Network, network, network. Go to meetups in your local area and try to meet as many local investors as possible. 

Talk to some lenders to see how much $ you can qualify for. This should help you get an idea of what markets you can invest in if your plan is to create a rental portfolio. 

Like Nicholas said above, the best way to get started is house hacking. This is the strategy that I'm pursuing and it is going to help me accumulate a portfolio much faster than if I had to take out a 20% down conventional loan or a DSCR loan with higher interest and more money down. It's pretty hard to make things cash flow even if you aren't living in one of the rentable units but the play is long term wealth accumulation as you pay down debt, build up equity, and rents appreciate.

With house hacking you can put 5% down and buy a 1-4 unit property as long as you owner occ for a year. Then you can turn into a full time rental after your departure. 

Hey @Harley Palaganas, I would recommend with outlining what your goals are for the future. Are you wanting to stockpile cash via flips and wholesaling, generate cashflow, hold for appreciation, etc? From there, going to meetups and connecting with local investors, realtors, and lenders is a great way to learn your market. Figure out what amount of money you are willing to put into a deal and your exit strategies in the event that things don't go according to plan. 

All the best on your REI journey!