What type of person or organization should I be talking to?

[Brett Vincent]

Hi, I'm looking to get started in investing with minimal money down. I'm currently an assembly worker at a warehouse, so I'm used to using tools and I currently own what I would estimate to be at least $5,000 worth of tools. Most of these are passed down from my father, and they're all just sitting in his home still. I have everything that I feel a rehab that I would feel comfortable working on myself would need (multiple sizes of philips, flatheads, wrenches, hammers, power drills, adhesive guns, paintbrushes, sanders, pruners, etc.) I also own a table saw, handsaws, a mower, a leafblower and weed whacker and even a chainsaw. That's just a general outlook on the items I own. Anyway, with all these tools I own and with my blue-collar assembly experience that would hopefully show that I know how to use tools and I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, how should I leverage this to find my first deal in an economically viable way for someone like me who lives off a blue-collar assembly and part-time retail paycheck? Should I create an inventory of these tools and take some pictures of the basement they're kept in and begin showing them to potential investors, banks, partners here on BP and saying while I can't bring money to the table, this is what I can bring along with my experience with labor work? The options I've considering most at the moment in my limited knowledge of the space is either house-hacking with a FHA loan on a duplex and triplex where I fix up the exterior, the rooms I wish to rent out, and try to move some people in and just work on my room over time before it hits one year. I also have been interested in purchasing a small SFR that needs some light work (yard work, exterior paint, interior paint, resanding hardwoods, maybe retiling, etc..) and flipping it. With both options, or any other options you may suggest, would including a 203k to help cover the costs of paint, house-specific items such as tiles or carpet, etc. be possible?

One last thing, I'm currently 24 and I left school when I was 22 to pay off all my personal debt that I accrued from being a not-so-intelligent 18-20 year old with a credit card, a part-time job, and a day-to-day expenses. I did pay off all those debts a few months ago, but my credit score hasn't recovered. I am debt-free, I have several steady paychecks from both full-time and part-time work, my credit score has gone up about 40 points in the last three months (582 FICO, currently), and I pay my bills on time every month. If I talk to a bank or anyone else from an investment standpoint, how much do you think my age and credit history will affect me?

EDIT: The reason I've looked at the SFR or house-hacking option the most is because I feel the house-hacking will help provide me some experience and confidence in multiple fields I'm interested in (rehabbing, buy-and-hold) and a steady stream of income each month, and the SFR route will allow me to collect some in-the-near-future income that I can use to reinvest in more deals and expand quicker. I'm open for any suggestions you may have on a better route for me.

Thanks, Brett