Am I ready to start looking for my first deal?

[Michael Salama]

I have been getting all my ducks in a row. I got my Real Estate License and found a Mentor. Read both of J. Scott’s books. Got a partner and a private money lender lined up. I believe I have found a GC I can trust. Am I ready to start looking for my first deal for a flip? Or is there something else I should read or learn before I start? Thanks!

[Gareth Fisher]

Originally posted by @Michael Salama:

@Gareth Fisher To be honest I don’t have much of a reserve, my income isn’t the greatest being a new agent.

I will definitely look at deals and practice the numbers before I dive into my first one

REI is for building wealth, not income. Use your license to drum up sales. Take the profit from the sales build your reserves. Once they are in place, then use the profit from your sales and roll that into your deals. In the meantime you may be able to partner with someone who has cash but not enough time.

 Start marketing using social media, extremely cheap and effective.  You can make a killing as a real estate agent in commissions alone.  

You can also flip anything, cars, rvs, couches, stocks, all of these which entail less debt which means less risk which means you need less cash reserves.  The principles of beating a market are the same regardless of the market.  If your going to take losses investing, Id rather see them be small.   Yes the profits are smaller as well, however the drive and ambition it takes to beat a market, applies to all investors in all markets.  Better to cut your teeth on something small, then take a 35,000 dollar loss on your first deal. 

You could also find a local flipper and start finding deals for them, and in return start collecting commissions. 

There are lots of ways to make money, a recipe for self destruction though is to over leverage.   With minimal cash reserves.