Has Anyone Found Success after Starting with small $ & no income?

[Steven Harris]

Hi all,

I'm reading here on BiggerPockets and other places of how it is totally possible to start investing in RE doing fix & flips with no money down or very little AND without having current income. I think I might've read something about that in Rental Property Investing by @Brandon Turner, if not, I definitely read it somewhere here in BiggerPockets. 

My situation is that while I am still looking for work, I want to make the most of my excellent credit and the money that I have. I'm looking at various HML's trying to find one who best fit my needs and I'm looking for quick, cosmetic fixes that cost no more than $150k to buy and no more than $15k to fix up that'll have an arv in the $185-$200k range.

These numbers are based solely off of my own cash on hand. With the right HML obviously I could look for slightly more expensive fixers and have a larger rehab budget but I still want my first project to be super simple, not a gut job or anything that needs more than 21 days to complete.

Is there anyone here who started out this way and "against the odds" successfully completed a project through to selling and making a profit? I'd love to here from you.

Thanks all!

Steven

[Brenden Mitchum]

Hey @Steven Harris

Fantastic advice here but I believe everyone is missing the point, to be honest. @Brandon Turner didn't start his investing career with zero income and most folks don't. RE investing is a fantastic way to build wealth but you can't build on something you don't have. The exception to this is if you go full-time into real estate as an agent, wholesaler, flipper, etc. But, essentially, your first step here should be to figure out how you're going to start generating income. If you currently do not have a job and do not have any skills or degree that allows for high income potential, you should look to RE for work. I'd suggest either the agent or wholesaler route as you will learn a ton in the process. 

Atlanta is a tough market and cash flow isn't easy to come by so if you're able to get out there and start finding/creating deals, you very well might be able to find an investor to JV with. However, don't expect to get much on the first deal or two so you'll still be stuck with the issue of having no income. Definitely start networking by attending local meetups and staying active here on BP as you never know who you might meet!

Lastly, it sound like moving to another market is not the solution for you. If you do decide to look outside of ATL, I highly recommend you only do so if you can move there. There are folks who invest successfully OOS but these aren't typically folks who are broke. You'll want to be local if your plan is to make up for lack of $$ with hustle. Either way, pick a market and stay focused - become an expert and opportunity will come. 

Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!