29 Yr old with capital for investing// In need of some help

[Cole McMath]

Hi guys,

I live in the Inland Empire in Southern California and recently sold the company that I helped build which has left me with no day job and a decent amount of money to invest. I need some help figuring out where to start this journey. I am currently helping to flip homes with my Dad, brother, and a partner. We have had some success flipping 2 homes now and I can see how this can be a very attractive way to make a living. 

I need help taking the next step. I understand that the most difficult part of being a flipper is finding the right deal to begin with. Currently we are relying on the partner to find the deals through his network of wholesalers and auctions but he is not jumping at the opportunity to share those contacts with us since that is a large portion of the value that he's bringing to the table.

My questions are as follows:

-Is it worth it to set up a funnel similar to a wholesaler to find direct deals for flipping? (This seems like it can turn into a full time job quickly and I'd like to focus on adding value to properties and flipping them as my primary business. I'd love to hear from someone who has made this work.)

-Is there a group here on Bigger Pockets that I should join? I really enjoy doing this kind of work but need some help to move forward. I'm new to BP and to this industry in general but I am excited to continue learning.

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. 

[Damian Ramirez]

Hello @Cole McMath

To answer your questions: Do you want a full time job? Wholesaling isn't a passive real estate venture, it's more full time. We wholesale properties here in California, whether it be SoCal or NorCal, as well as Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and a few others. It is for sure a full time job and in order to obtain a large funnel of properties to come your way, you have to work harder than all other wholesalers and investors. You will probably spend more money on marketing, relationships, tech, and let alone the time it will take to streamline the system. If you venture into this, expect to spend more money and your time, with added stress. These costs might end up being more expensive than the wholesale fees if you were to purchase from a wholesaler already (depending on how much the wholesaler usually adds). 

It seems like you just want to flip, so I suggest to just possibly sticking to flipping rather than stretching yourself thin with adding a full time job (wholesaling). Sure you'd save money here and there, but it might be in your best interest to stick to something you are passionate about than to rather do something to attempt save money and end up draining yourself.

When it comes to joining a group on BP, go to the forums and keep a tab on the forums that are specific to the market you invest in. If you're in SoCal and Flip in SoCal, follow and keep an eye out for new posts and investors on the SoCal forum sections. Other than that, look for meetups in your area when they start popping up again. 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. I'm in the Newport Beach area, but one of my partners does reside closer to your area in the IE. If you do happen to want to do the wholesale funneling tactic to obtain your flips directly, we have been wholesaling and investing for about 10 years now and are always willing to teach others.

Hope this helped!