Newbie looking to make first invenstment

[Daniel Florence]

Hello Everyone,

I'm looking to get started and have a lot of questions and was hoping the Bigger Pockets forum would help with some advice for a newbie. 

I'm a 35 year old full time industrial packaging salesman who's looking to invest in real estate part time until I feel comfortable to potentially move into a full-time role somewhere down the road. I've owned a rental before not by choice but during the real estate crash when I could not sell the first home I bought. I rented this home for 4 years and quickly learned that the tenant can really make or break you.

My thought as a newbie is to invest in SFH's with a buy and hold strategy. I realize the market is high but also realize there still can be deals out there with the a little work and the right connections. But, I'm also trying to figure out how some of the investors on BP forums and Podcast are buying multiple properties a month.

The price range I'm looking in is anywhere from $50k - $150 in the Atlanta metro area and Athens, Ga area. I have cash on hand to meet the 20% - 25% down payment but I'm curious if I wanted to buy multiple properties this year will I have to tap my cash reserves each time to meet the down payment requirements or can I leverage other properties to buy new properties?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how to use the leverage in my first rental investment to buy additional units. 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Kurt McDowell]

You can leverage your first property to buy future properties, but you have to buy it low enough for the equity to bridge.