Anyone had trouble getting their SECOND property?

[Rush Elliott]

Hello, newb here, and I'm trying to figure out how to get my first property so that I can be set up to get my second property, etc. I would love to BRRR a property and use the cash-out refi to get the 2nd property, but anytime something comes available that needs a little work, local investors are all over it (Birmingham, AL). As it stands right now, I will need to do a HELOC on my primary residence for a down payment, in addition to the loan for the mortgage. That would be fine if I could refinance; however, most properties available could produce a modest cash flow, but wouldn't really offer any immediate gain in equity. Then I would have 2 loans to pay off with the modest cash flow, and can't really see a way to move to a 2nd property. I know people say to "just get started", but in my head, I can't make that scenario worth it. Am I overthinking this? I'm a pretty concrete thinker, so any creative ideas would help. Thanks!

[Dale Degagne]

I've experienced this too - where "investors" are all over properties and (by my numbers) must be accepting lower returns, or willing to leave loads of money in a deal when it's done, or being speculative. 

It's Frustrating.

I would say though that, being ready (cash in hand, low amount of conditions, pre-qualified etc) for the next best deal will go a long way and will help you purchase the next deal before everyone else is ready to go.

If you're having trouble finding deals that aren't getting snapped up you could try;

1. Driving for Dollars - Drive around til you see crappy looking places and approach the owner.
2. Pay special attention to the market during holidays, or long weekends while other investors are busy doing other things.
3. Look for things that other investors have passed over and be creative with how you can make it work.  In "hot" markets, if things don't sell quickly they lose their momentum and people start saying "oh it must be a bad deal". But it could just be an "ok" deal that you can turn into a great one because there isn't a line up of people throwing money at it.