How Would You START Your Real Estate Investing Career?

[Kelly McJunkin]

Hello everyone, I have been following the threads for a while, but just made my own account here. I will be selling my primary residence in San Diego County next month. It is absolutely a sellers market, so I am expecting around $450k+ back from equity. I'm ready to dive-into real estate investing, and am curious what you would do as a first-time investor to generate a passive income initially and get the ball rolling?? I am open to rental properties, flips and wholesale. I would just love advice to point me toward the best starting point as a beginner. Thank you so much!

[Dave Foster]

@Kelly McJunkin and @Kenton LeVay, Be careful with the "flip into 1031" maneuver.  Flips generally dont qualify for 1031 treatment because your intent has to be to hold the property for productive investment use.  If your intent is to resell that doesn't work.

But there is a way to feed your flipping soul and get tax relief.  It just takes a little runway.  Instead of fixing and flipping, fix and rent.  Then refi immediately so you can get the cash for your next "rehab project".  Now you've got two properties - one generating income and one your fixing.  As soon as it's fixed rent it and refi to get your next one.  Now you've got three properties and a year may have passed which is probably enough time to sell and 1031 the first property into down payments on your next two improvement projects.  Within a year and a half you can actually have levered yourself into 5 properties in various stages - some being improved, some being rehabbed, some being sold (but all of this is tax deferred).