New Investor, Overwhelmed with Options

[Jimmie Darden]

Hi All! I'm a new investor based out of Richmond, VA - so new that I haven't made my "first deal" yet, but have made some offers and closed in on a few deals from wholesalers with promise, but haven't found quite the right fit. I've been listening to the podcasts and stalking around the forums for a long while now, soaking up the great information from this site. I'm getting antsy looking for my first deal, so in the meantime I'm looking to learn as much as I can. Here is my situation:
I own a primary residence with good equity in it, have good credit, and about 25k towards my first deal (down payment + rehabs). I'd like to start with a good starter flip to build up some cash reserves/capital towards future deals, then move into some buy and hold/rentals. I have also toyed with the ideal of wholesaling (I know, focus) but I am having a lot of trouble finding solid deals. Most of the deals I have found have good ARV, but are in "warzones." One of the houses I looked at today had some serious foundation problems and the other house is vacant and in a very rough area of town, where the neighbor told me that last week right after I viewed it, there was a crackhead and a prostitute in the house that drop in from time to time. As you can tell, there's alot of variables and I am having trouble calibrating my strategy due to all the misfortune in getting started. On a positive note, I have learned a ton from reading books, I also have a mentor, and others who are involved with some aspect of real estate investing - but my issue is finding my first deal. Any tips for a newbie?

Thanks!

[Jarrin Benson]

Hey Jimmie, sounds like you're doing the right things so far. Imagine this: 5 years from now you'll be 5-20+ deals deep and you'll still be doing the same thing: writing multiple offers and being analytical before finding each and every deal that 'passes'. The only difference is that right now you're losing patience. Dont. Power by numbers. Carry on, push harder, put yourself in the mindset that you'll write 10-20 offers before you land one. You're right on track. Turn your mindset into: "I'm putting in the work analyzing deals and putting offers in right where i need them to be" (it doesnt matter that you don't win them - that's a product of the market), Lose the mindset of: 'I really want to put that first house under contract'. That will trigger a compromise and will get you into a property you don't want.