Thoughts on waiting out this tough market, save $ and BRRRR?

[Justin Sofman]

Hey BiggerPockets Fam, 

I picked a tough time to get into real estate. I've got a big fat 0 properties. Only been looking to make a purchase as of this year and it is not going great. I've put maybe 5 offers in and have not won any, and they'd be base hit deals (I realize 5 is not a lot). As time goes on and my bonus checks pile up, I start to question, should I just save $120k and purchase a fixer upper SF outright, and then BRRRR it? I'm looking to purchase in a market where that is possible.

It feels like I'm not even close to winning bids on SF houses where the #s barely make sense, and forget multis as there is a lack of inventory. If I convert in going the conventional mortgage route, I would be parting with a lot of my $. The closer I get to $100+ savings, and the more offers I lose, the more enticing it is to try my hand at a legit BRRRR. Just to be clear, the play here is to purchase a fixer upper for say $100k cash, put $20k into it, have it appraise for $150k, and then take out a traditional 80/20% loan. That way I can recoup all of my money and leave no cash in the deal. This is a perfect world scenario, but do you get the gist? I'd get the loan for $120k, the full amount I put into the deal.

What's the polling here folks? On one hand I can be persistent, make a base hit purchase... maybe, and gain some experience. On the other, I could wait out this super tough market, save some $, and try my hand at a BRRRR where I'd recoup some or all of my $ right away. I'm hearing this market is here to stay though. Ahhhh.

Thoughts?

-Justin