Find leads or get money saved first?

[Armando Montrond]

Hey there! I am sure this question has been asked a bunch of times in different ways but would love some help with where i should be focused. I currently have a 3 family property that I am house hacking. My rate is SO LOW that it doesnt make sense to refinance out of it to do another FHA right now and there isnt a ton of equity in the property to qualify for a HELOC. So as I look to scale out my portfolio, I know i need money which i don't exactly have enough right now for a 20% down payment. BUT I also want to start marketing to find deals.

My question is ..Should I start up the marketing engine to start finding deals and then if something comes across thats good, start to look for some private capital OR wait and save up the 20% (around 100k minimum in my area) before marketing looking for deals? 

Thanks!

[Patricia Steiner]

You do both...you're always looking for opportunities; that's what every successful business person does.  But you also need to know what options are available to you for financing should you find that opportunity.  You need bench strength.  You need a realtor/broker who works with investors (but who isn't currently investing for their own book of business - you don't need to bring a competitor into your circle), a couple of solid lender resources, and a creative insurance broker.  Interview some investor realtors and when you find the right one, that person can connect you to the other resource partners.  Building an empire takes resources so get your bench strength in place and then you can move quickly when the right opportunity surfaces.  Never be satisfied...you've got that part already.  Now bench up.  Best...