Bought my first property!

[Arden Aemmer]

Hey I finally took the plunge and bought my first property at 28 years old! Woohoo! Its a rental property here in Indiana for 36k, has a renter already in it at the end of the lease doing month to month. Not a huge cash cow but useful to show as a loss on my income when I keep track of my expenses. I'm working as an electrician making good money and I wanted some advice on how to proceed. Closing and down payments are a lot. If I keep on doing small deals I could see this taking a while. What are some ways you guys get enough money for another deal? Of course I'm not going to do something again right away but I'd like to start planning and making a path so I'll be ready when the time comes. Also any other advice that you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[Brandon Rush]

Hey Arden,

Congrats on your first rental property, you are officially an "INVESTOR"! 

Here are a few suggestions I have on building funds/acquiring your future properties:
* Find off market deals - With these deals, you may have some flexibility in how you can structure the deals. You could potentially owner finance, allowing for a lower down payment. You could also partner with someone and split the rental income/equity. 
* House Hack - Ones of the best ways to pick up properties is to house hack. Its so freckin easy its not funny. Find yourself a quad with a low down payment option such as an FHA or first time home owners loan. And repeat the process over time. This eliminates the need for you to continuously come out of pocket 20-25% every time.
* Wholesaling - If you are interested, you can wholesale off market deals to build funds. With just a few in your pocket, you will probably be easily lined up to pick up more property
* Save Up - This is an obvious one but not so obvious to many. Start by lowering your expenses. If you are driving around with a $500 car payment and have a mortgage or rent of $1200 a month, that's  $1,500 right there that could be saved. Times that by 12 and you are at $20,400 saved a year! Also, once you start to pick up property, your savings will grow more rapidly allowing you to pick up the next one faster.

Good luck on your journey, you are off to a great start!