Starting out with no money....rental or rehab?

[Mj Mckinley]

Hello Bigger Pockets people! I am new to real estate investment and I am having trouble figuring out where to start. My goals are to create passive income and invest more in rental properties; however, I do not have the money to do so. I cannot get enough private money for a down payment through a regular bank, and my debt ratio is too high for an FHA loan. Therefore I was thinking perhaps it would be better to get into rehabs using hard money loans to start. Is this a good idea? Or are there alternate ways to invest in passive income properties that I do not know about? Thanks in advance!