What to do?

[Tom Valichka]

Hello all.  For the past 2-3 years or so I have been a member of biggerpockets, and basically listened to them since day one.  I have read many real estate investing books, and listened to numerous successful professionals such as Robert Kiyosaki, Grant Cardone, and Gary V.  The owner of the  company I work for is very successful as well and I consider him as my mentor. He has been building homes, buying commercial properties, developing, and rehabbing for over 10 years.  I feel as I am ready to jump in and buy a deal.  Gaining experience in the deal I feel is my next step.  The rehab portion if needed will not be hard because I work for a building company that can work quickly, and probably cheaper than most folks can find.  If I find a deal my boss will fund the rehab portion for me for a low interest rate.  I am prequaled for a 150k loan on residential at 95% which, in my area, is workable.  I am primarily looking single family residences just because the commercial market is pretty poor in this area. This is primarily a second home market, thus single familys are the best move.  I have another business on the side which, a couple buddies and I run, but that is not enough to satisfy me either.  I am looking for more.

The problem for me right now is finding the deal.  Foreclosures are eaten up.  If something is in my price range, it needs much more work and money than the deal will allow to even make a dime.  The market is heating up again and deals are hard to find.  If a deal does turn up, within days the home gets sold for much more than the original asking price making it impossible to even consider.  I am at a crossroad of waiting for the market to head south again or explore other deal options.  My boss keeps telling me to look into other options, but I am not really seeing anything.  Is my best bet just to wait, keep learning and studying, or are there different options out there I am not even considering.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Tom