Strategizing moving forward(also seeking business credit advice)

[Mike Dawson]

Hi.  New investor here.  Getting things moving along a little slower than I'd like, but making progress nonetheless.  

A little about me...mid 40s, married, 2 grown children, still in the area I was born.  I've had a few jobs and ended up disliking all of them, some sooner than others.  Most recently worked for the post office for a month shy of 10 years.  Left in February.  I fully intend on making this real estate career my last.  Like some of you, I'm sick of working below my potential, making the wrong people more money, dealing with earned vacation and not being able to take it, being worked to the point of injury, not being appreciated, and not seeing my family on my terms.  I'm done with it.  I love seeing the success stories here, facebook, and elsewhere.  I know it can be done, and I know I can do it, too.  However, being inexperienced is quite the obstacle.  I have a general idea of moving forward, but wanted to get some feedback, and willing to listen to suggestions, tips, advice, etc. So...

Currently living in my primary of 25 years. Bought same year I graduated high school. Never intended on staying here that long, but here I am. Lots of deferred maintenance, so I am treating it like a BRRRR. Based on my estimate of repairs, I have enough capital to cover rehab. However, I'm considering getting a personal loan to cover a portion of expenses to give myself some extra breathing room. Once rented and stabilized, and I have targeted a new property, I want to cash out refi. Would like to move into multi family/apartments sooner rather than later. BUT, one step at a time.

I have excellent credit, but now no income. I'm considering wholesaling to raise capital to fund my deals. I'm also interested in seeking funding through private investors, so I will be exploring that avenue in time. From what I've seen, a sole proprietorship might be the best for me at the moment, until such time I'm making enough to justify creating an LLC, and relying on an umbrella policy to cover any potential problems.

So, getting an EIN for my business, dba registering, getting a business banking account, and applying for business credit seems like the way I should be going at the moment.  I want to buy as much as I can on credit, and use my cash to immediately pay off the card, credit line, net 30 accounts, etc., to boost my business credit.  Please let me some tips/tricks to getting my credit off the ground.  Many places don't like brand new businesses, even less when owned by people with no income.

 We're moving to the NC mountains(Ashe Co.) after the rehab, so I will be making visits to all the local lenders trying to establish relationships.  Included in the group of people I'm looking to meet will be realtors, wholesalers, fellow real estate investors, private investors, PMs, GCs, MENTORS!, etc.  

Thanks for sticking with me to this point!  I'm trying to get my bearings in this new to me frontier.  I expect to make mistakes, but wanted to check in and get some feedback that could help me potentially avoid some as well.  Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from the community. :)

Mike

[Kerry Noble Jr]

i built my biz credit.....using no PG strategy.......started with the office suppliers and worked my way up to sunbelt and floor and decor.......and i stopped......

[Katherine Serrell]

Hi Mike! I am an investor (2 long term rentals & 2 short term rentals consisting of 5 units) in NC. I am 24 and financially free as of this year. I still have the W-2 job but nice to know I am not dependent on it and can work on my own terms now. I am also a lender and would love to help in anyway I can or discuss any strategies you are considering. I love working with creative financing. I finished my first out of state BRRR this year and have experienced all of the commercial and conventional financing challenges at this point.

Also, (in my experience) you really dont 'need' to apply for or build business credit. It is a lot of hassle for little to no reward. Most conventional lenders, commercial lenders, private money lenders, hard money lenders, etc will just use your personal credit to qualify you but nothing goes on your credit history as business activity will be associated with your LLC and not your personal name.

Whether or not to use an LLC vs sole proprietorship boils down to the strategy and deal so thats not a call you have to make right off the bat if you dont know what your plans are yet.

[Mike Dawson]

Quote from @Kerry Noble Jr:

i built my biz credit.....using no PG strategy.......started with the office suppliers and worked my way up to sunbelt and floor and decor.......and i stopped......

 Why did you stop?

[Mike Dawson]

Quote from @Katherine Serrell:

Hi Mike! I am an investor (2 long term rentals & 2 short term rentals consisting of 5 units) in NC. I am 24 and financially free as of this year. I still have the W-2 job but nice to know I am not dependent on it and can work on my own terms now. I am also a lender and would love to help in anyway I can or discuss any strategies you are considering. I love working with creative financing. I finished my first out of state BRRR this year and have experienced all of the commercial and conventional financing challenges at this point.

Also, (in my experience) you really dont 'need' to apply for or build business credit. It is a lot of hassle for little to no reward. Most conventional lenders, commercial lenders, private money lenders, hard money lenders, etc will just use your personal credit to qualify you but nothing goes on your credit history as business activity will be associated with your LLC and not your personal name.

Whether or not to use an LLC vs sole proprietorship boils down to the strategy and deal so thats not a call you have to make right off the bat if you dont know what your plans are yet.

 That's awesome!  I hope you had a celebration on that achievement.  I know I will once I become free. :)

Since I have no income atm, it seems creative financing is my way forward.  Would love to chat about some options you're aware of that may help me in my quest.