New to this, have some questions, flipping or investing in REITS?

[Marcus Melgoza]

I'm beginning to start my first steps into real estate investing. After reading a couple of articles on Bigger Pockets, listening to the amazing pod cast and educating myself with a few books on the subject I've conjured up a lot of questions. One thing I'm completely certain about is that i know is gonna take me time to get to where I want to be, FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT, and I'm ok with that, but I also don't want to make the wrong decisions. That being said, I would really appreciate if somebody can help point me on the right direction to what I have been thinking about. First things first, I have 20k and a credit score around 680-700. It been looking to do two things, invest that money in a profitable REIT to be able to save up more money to have enough for a future flip since i know that 20k just won't cut it to make a decent fix and flip. But at the same time I don't want to wait, I want to jump into action and learn on the field. So I been thinking of asking for a loan for a property but I have the doubt knowing that some banks are gonna have a HLTV and I'm not gonna get enough to buy a property even if I bring in a 20% downpayment for a foreclosed home. I guess my question is would it be possible to get a loan with 20k and have enough to also renovate the property with the loan to sell it and add all the other expenses that go with that venture or should I just play it safe for now and research on a good REIT until I have enough cash and not have to depend so much of a loan.