New investor with $10,000... What would you do if you were me?

[Timothy Metra]

BP, what's up? The title is pretty straightforward to my situation. I have $10,000. How can I turn this into $1M overnight? Thanks!

Okay, I'm only joking. If you're still reading, I'm assuming you're patient enough to help someone who's a complete noob to the real estate world, but lucky for you, I'm decently knowledgable. I've researched a good bit on REI for almost 2 years now, but I'm finally ready to make the plunge into some actual investments.

Now, before I start, I'd like to take a moment to say this isn't a "What would you do if you had $10,000 as a beginner?" question, but more of a "Tim, if I were you, I would do _________."

I'm assuming that since I'm asking for you guys to help guide me specifically, it would be nice to know a little about me.

Well, I'm 23 years old. I didn't go to college (it's more of a business than anything, don't even get me started on that topic), but I have a really good job, at least for my location. I'm currently a contractor for an aviation company and make $25/hr. I also get per diem, meaning I'm only taxed on minimum wage for the first year of working since I live over 50 miles from the job site. So for the next year, with overtime included, I'll average anywhere from $1,200 - $1,500 per week.

With that being said, I don't like my job at all. The pay is good, but... *in my most non-cliché voice* the corporate world is not for me. At all. I work around 12 - 18 hours overtime weekly. I don't have much time to myself at all. On top of my 60+ hour work weeks (if you include transit), I'm taking online courses to become a licensed real estate agent.

I have no bills to my name. Well, not the kind of bills that make people live in the rat race forever. I have rent, a prepaid phone bill, Netflix... things to that nature. Things to where if I were to lose my job tomorrow, I could get out of if absolutely necessary.

I currently have $10,000 to my name. Cash. In the bank. I need more reliable work car, but I'm not financing anything. I currently drive one of my parent's vehicles and help with the insurance. I plan to just buy a little $3,000 - $5,000 Honda, but there's no rush on that.

My ultimate goal is to own a real estate investment company. I want to do a little bit of everything. Wholesaling some deals I don't feel like rehabbing, rehabbing others, rent to own single-family, multi-family, you name it. I'd start on a project to project basis and kind of gradually get to the point I'm taking on multiple at a time.

I'd like to start out as a real estate agent, but it's obviously going to be quite the challenge with my current schedule. This is where you guys come in! I'm thinking of working for the next year like a dog. Overtime like crazy, saving up all my money, getting my real estate license on the side... And then getting super serious with REI once that per diem tax break runs out, which will be November of 2017.

So, what would you do in my situation? Any suggestions are appreciated!

And one last note... I would rather make $30,000 a year owning my own business than $65,000 at my current job.

Opinions? LAY IT ON ME!

[Ozzy Smith]

Timothy

first off I think you are going about it the right way.  I wish I had 10k in the bank when I was 23 and asking the questions you are.  Getting your RE license is a great way to start.  You can learn, and chose which markets you want (and the general public) to do business in.  You will see the retail side of things and learn to understand the costs from a buy and seller standpoint along with closing costs that a lot of investors somehow often times forget to include in their analysis.  That being said don't fall into the hype that comes from a lot of agents and training that brain washes you into thinking that the realtor is what makes the difference in selling the property or somehow has any effect on the sales price ( I know that is going to generate some hate mail for sure).

I got my RE license bc I hated dealing with realtors that didn't get what us investors do.  There is the traditional home buyer (retail purchaser) and then there is us... we do things and want things completely different.

With 10k there is still plenty you can do.  I don't know your market or credit or lots of things but that could be a 20% down payment on a 50K duplex that cash flows a couple hundred bucks a month.  I can find those all day long here in Dayton OH.  With that you could learn house hacking, buy and hold, pm skills, build equity in your own property while living there for nothing... and the list goes on and on. 

It seems like you don't have much time but lots of drive. You could still do a JV with a partner and learn by doing and make a small percentage of a deal (but the value is in the experience). You could possibly loan that money in short term financing to another investor or now is a great time to contribute it to a self directed IRA then use it lots of ways.

Finally you could get in touch with me and we can talk live so I quit burning up my computer because there isn't enough space on this blog to discuss everything lol.

I'm not by any means a guru or an expert but I like you started with just a little money (or actually less than a little money) and am slowly but surely building something great.  I get where you are coming from and would be happy to share my story of what I did (and what I would never do again).  Keep asking questions and getting as much info as you can, this is a great place to do that and at some point just pull the trigger and start. 

If I can help feel free to call me or drop me a PM