Starting out....

[NA NA]

I've been researching non stop about Real Estate investing. I'm 18 years old and my dad left me a house that would need a lot of work to get into livable condition. I've decided to just sell it before a deliquient tax certificate is issued, where I could loose the house, or atleast have to owe more then I have to pay now. After I sell it I'll have a good $18,000 in the bank to do whatever with. Most kids my age would probably go and buy a car and take their girlfriend out for a nice dinner but not me. :mrgreen:

I want to turn this small amount of money into much much more. 18k of course isn't enough to do a lot with, but if I'm set on this I can secure more private funds through relatives.

I've discovered a few ways that investors acquire properties for so cheap. I think the most effective method is contacting home owners that are about to their home foreclosed on or are in foreclosure, and see if you can work out a deal with them to buy their home at a cheap price so their credit doesn't drop through the floor. It seems like a win win situation, they don't loose their credit, you get a property for cheap, you can give them some extra money that you didn't pay for the home as some incentive, and they won't tear the crap out of the house like most people do when their home is foreclosed on.

What are the risks involved? I'm talking about all the legal stuff. As far as the numbers go, neighborhood ceilings, construction, appraisals, I'm comfortable with all that. What I want to know is what can go wrong legally where you can get screwed over by acquiring a home, fixing it up a bit and reselling it.

How do mortgages work in this aspect? How about home equity loans that may be out on the property. Will all of this carry over to you?

Are there any other ways of investing in Real estate with a smaller amount of money that can get one started? What is "wholesaling? Thank you.