Where to start/ what to do.

[Aaron Toczylowski]

Hello, I am looking for any advice I can get on investing out of state, purchasing a fix and flip ( between my father and I we  know a lot of contractors) , or even finding deals in an expensive market near where I live ( Annapolis MD area) My Plan would be to get a loan for a down payment. I’m really interested in investing out of state, but also apprehensive at the same time. I haven’t settled on a market yet. I’ve looked through Indiana, Alabama, Tennessee, the Carolina’s, and it seems I can get two properties out of state for the price of one in the market where I live (Maryland). Can anyone provide guidance on markets, any referrals, what steps to take first, or general investing tips?

I’ve already talked to a realtor in my area who wasn’t much help at all. I told him I was thinking about getting a loan to buy another property and his response was “ You don’t want to do that”, “you’ll have another loan to pay off”, “Why do you want to have 2 mortgages”, “your best bet is to save up your money to put 20% down”… That realtor obviously doesn’t have the investor mind set I’m looking for.

I know I haven’t fully narrowed down my investing plan but any thoughts or guidance would help me create an investing plan and would also be much appreciated.