New and Looking for Advice

[Brian Mansfield]

I'm in the Baltimore market looking for my first deal. I've been doing research, and have my eye on a few properties which have been on the market for awhile as potentially being good deals, one being two houses down from me selling for 20% of what I bought my house for a few months ago. 

I'm confused on exactly how to calculate the cash flow and ROI to ensure these deals are actually smart investments. I understand the calculations and how to get to those numbers, but I'm not sure how to work them out with limited money down. When working with private lenders, would I calculate ROI as a cash transaction?

I get the feeling that doing so would skew the numbers since I'd be paying that money back with interest, but calculating for financed with 0-5% of my own money down would do the same. My next thought is that I would get private lending, then refinance through a bank and repay that loan, but I'm not sure how I would calculate that long term. I'm confident that some of what I'm looking at are good deals that would work out, but I need to be equally as confident in my plan to make it work before moving forward. 

Am I better off holding out until I have more cash of my own to put down? Should I look into wholesaling to get some quick cash and work from there? Investing in rental properties is my goal, and I'm looking for the smartest way to get there. I could be way off on some of these thoughts, and I'm looking to learn. Any feedback is appreciated!