Just starting out - how to find funding and other questions

[Steve Schreiber]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on here. I'm completely new to everything in terms of real estate investing. I have some questions that I'm hoping can give me a little clarity. I've read a lot on both rental props and fix and flips and have some ideas that I'm not sure if they will work or not. And even if they will work, my biggest worry is financing everything as I only have around 10k saved up for this.

1) I don't live in a huge city. The town I live in is approximately 15000 people. It has a college in it so there are plenty of rental props to snatch up, and many are at below market prices because Daddy buys the house when kiddo is in college then rents it out to him and a couple roommates then 3 years later needs to sell. I'm wondering if there will be enough volume here for me to actually make money doing flips. Does anyone have thoughts on the city size versus the feasibility of flipping? There are several small towns within a 60 mile radius of me as well that have beat up houses going for under 50k but again, I'm worried about over extending.

2) How do I finance everything? I've read about hard money and private loans and just bought a house so know all about bank loans and FHA's and Conventional etc. Do I look at trying to find a private seller and work with them? Do I search out private money (and where do I even start)? Can I get approved for private money even if I don't have a house in mind yet? (would be nice to look at a place and say "yep, I'll take it and I've got money lined up")

3) It took me 6 weeks to close on the house I just bought. Is there a quicker way when flipping? That seems like a long time to sit on the house when you're trying to flip it.

Thanks for any help anyone is willing to give!