Starting out in NY, can't get mortgage but have some cash

[Raymond Ji]

Hi, I recently graduated and really want to start investing in real estate. However, I face multiple issues that prevent me from getting started:

- I only started building my credit one year ago and have one credit card. I went to a few lenders (BoA, Chase) who told me that the "industry standard" is that mortgage lenders would only lend to someone that has more than three credit lines with at least two years of history on each. So it seems that getting a mortgage to finance my investments is not an option.

- I do have around $100k in liquid assets, but I am located in NY and there really isn't anything I can buy here without a loan. Also I don't know if buying all cash is a wise move with regards to risk and return on equity.

- I have no experience in real estate so far and out-of-state investing seems to be a risky idea for a first deal.

So what choices do I have here? Do I have to wait two years until I have a good enough credit history before I can start investing? Yet I do want to get into real estates as soon as possible. Any ideas? Thanks!