19 y/o w/ a 9-5 job with little cash reserves recommended first step?

[Michael Flanagan]

I've been studying Real Estate Investing intensively for the past year, learning about different strategies and the benefits they offer. Now, I'm ready to take my first step towards getting a house or exploring wholesaling. It'll give me valuable experience and help me make some extra money to fund my first deal.

I've been going to meetups with real estate groups and recently started working on getting my real estate agent license to gain more knowledge. Regardless of the path I choose, I want my first deal to involve the BRRR method. After refinancing and getting cash from that deal, I can use it to fund future investments. Once I have enough savings, I'll try house hacking and continue investing using the BRRR strategy.

Unfortunately, my savings account isn't in great shape, and I don't have connections or lenders who are knowledgeable about real estate investing. Finding a mentor would be ideal, but I don't know where to start. I heard about forums, so I thought I'd give it a try and write this post at midnight. Any help or replies would be appreciated!

[Michael Dumler]

@Michael Flanagan, probably not the advice that you want to hear but I share this time and again with younger investors because it's practical and realistic; save religiously, limit unnecessary debt, build your credit, secure W2 employment, get pre-approved via a conventional lender, acquire and house hack your first deal. Tackling a BRRRR as your first deal without any prior experience is asking for trouble in my opinion. Not to mention, the whole point of the BRRRR strategy is for the acquisition to be in all cash. You can go via hard money but now you're really asking for trouble. Short-term debt should only be taken on if you have previous experience handling it. Given current market conditions, high rates, scarce inventory, etc., successfully completing a BRRRR is difficult, to say the least. The reality is you need capital to get started and to hold equity within the deal as a means to protect yourself.

Now to address wholesaling, unless you absolutely love real estate and sales, do not jump into wholesaling without first recognizing the risks you're taking on. To be upfront, real estate sales is a cutthroat industry with a lot of rejection and a 90% fail rate. Moreover, being 1099 self-employed makes it even more difficult to acquire an owner-occupied loan. This is something you don't hear that often. 

Moving forward, read "Set For Life" by Scott Trench. That book alone will unveil a lot of practical advice for you to follow. At the end of the day, don't feel rushed, you're only 19. Hope this helps!