Real Estate Rookie: Questions about breaking in

[Connor Milligan]

Hi everyone,

Been listening to the BP podcasts and reading the blog but this is my first post! I'm trying to break into real estate investing and am looking to do my first deal. I live in the SF Bay Area, where property values are pretty expensive.

Because of this, I have a couple of questions that I'm unsure about.

1) What are ways I can get creative with my financing if it's my first deal? I've learned about seller financing and getting a partner and such, but what would you recommend for a first time investor? If I want to scale my portfolio, traditional 20% down mortgages aren't going to be possible because of the property value here, so wanted to see what other popular methods are possible.

2) How can a rookie investor get comfortable with buying out-of-state? My biggest concern is really around buying a property without ever seeing it. Who do you have to hire or partner with to make sure the house is ready for purchase and ready to start marketing to tenants?

Happy to give any further details that would be helpful and I really appreciate any help!