If you're just trying to do a traditional buy&hold or fix&flip, you absolutely do not need a mentor to do that.

Regardless of your level of plain/simple vs rustic vs fancy, you can do it for much less by just going to used furnishing stores (primarily).I used both 1) high-end second hand stores (meaning not primarily Goodwill and Salvation Army), and 2) lower level antiques stores where they have decent pieces for say < $500.

Go to local REI meetups, join California-focused investor Facebook groups, and reach out to active flippers and buy-and-hold investors on different platforms or forums.

Origination costs usually can't be rolled into the loan on PM/HM funded deals so you'd be on the hook for closing costs and as Nicola mentioned holding period costs. 

In certain situations additional lien on credit and excessive trade lines can cause future DTI issues, lower scores and denials on future loans.The rates our lower on mortgages versus Heloc right now and the terms are longer for example 30 year mortgage versus a 8-10 year Heloc and most carry prepayment penalties so if you want to pay it off early they can hit you with a prepay penalty of 6% or higher.Refinance allows you to have cash in hand and avoid the scary "What if" factor meaning loss job, lost income, late payment, over leveraged and if any of these things happen your credit limit gets reduced and in most cases closed completely.

we were able to find her the right investment that would grow without much hand holding, and she was able to find good cash flow right away.When I talk to other investors i always mention that with the prices of new construction being on average lower than existing homes for the first time in many years, now is a good time to look to New construction investments. 

As in all things in life (like choosing a spouse)for instance, it's incumbent upon us to examine our individual personalities regarding whether a proposed partnership would be a good fit or a disaster in waiting.In 2007, when I lost more than $130,000 in the stock market,I learnt a permanent lesson that stuck with me till today.I discovered that I was a control freak.I needed to always know how my actions directly related to my results, and most often like to retain the ability to change my mind even if others would find such reversal a stupid idea.Seeing how much control I didn't have on how my stocks performed in 2008 despite all the information I had consumed for several months regarding value investing and how to analyze a company's fundamentals scarred me for life.It made a real estate investor out of me.The safety and assurance that I was taking sole responsibility for the calls i made and the risks I decided to take was a calming refuge.Having been a Pro-member on BiggerPockets for as long as I've been has its perks.It gives one a front row seat to see in slow motion the interesting evolution of the component parts that make up this mammoth industry.I watched in amusement as one member arrived as a total newbie in 2018 with a welcome post, voraciously consuming unsolicited counsel on the member forums for a few months and then posted a "success story" of his deals after 6 months.Within a year, he had his own podcast and is now buying large apartments as a syndicator pooling investors' money.To be clear, this is not a hate post.I certainly do not begrudge people "crushing it" in record time.Nonetheless, as a 'senior' member of this community who has seen this movie before,I do feel a lonely cautionary voice in the wilderness is needed at this point.We are in an environment of unprecedented cap rate compression and record low interest rates which is only headed in one direction after this is all over.Yes, make no mistake, the music will soon stop.That has very little to do with an upcoming election and is regardless of who wins the White House or who controls congress after November.If you've listened to Kevin Bupp and Rod Khleif, you know what happened to their portfolios in 2008.These were no amateurs, as a matter of fact, they had many years of investment experience when the music stopped.They both weathered the storm and came back stronger and that is why I remain a shameless fan of both men till today.Several others were not that lucky, and you will never hear their names.In this space today, there are investors and there are educators.The educators have taken over the habitat.That is why there are now more podcasts on real estate than I can get through in a working week.Real Estate education is so very lucrative now that it is possible to make way more money from podcasts and books than in actual real estate investment for some gifted marketers with smooth tongues and gifted content creators.We are in the information age after all, and youtube millionaires are now perhaps outpacing patient real estate buy and hold landlords in the passive income/ cash flow game.Belonging to a $25,000/year mastermind and attending a syndication bootcamp does not insulate anyone from catastrophe.

We've closed a buy-and-hold deal in 4 calendar days, using private lender funding.Other than cash, I don't know of a faster way ...

Once I hand over the keys, they pay as per the lease (deposits to a pre-designated bank account).I have long cautioned folks from using any third-party vendors for rent payments or deposits because of the very generous clawback provisions for the payer in the TOS, which can be initiated even MONTHS afterwards.Here's one such post.

I imagine getting the first handful under your belt financially is the hardest part.Thanks in advance for your responses.- Michael Can you do a house hack on a 2-4 unit?