Hello Everyone, What are the crucial steps I need to take?

[Paul Nguyen]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post on BiggerPockets. I am a Real Estate Investor in the Austin, Texas area. I started learning about Real Estate Investing around July of 2015. I am currently working Full-Time and investing part time. In this year, I started an LLC, have been marketing through bandit signs, direct mail, and door knocking. I am still looking for my first deal to put into my portfolio. My goal is to have at least 2 house under my name by the end of 2016. I have learned a lot in the past year through reading all the books from Bigger Pockets, listening to Podcasts, going to investor Meetups, and building my systems. I understand I am in a very hot market and people are buying at above market prices, which I do not want to do, and could not afford to do even if I wanted to.

From what you can understand about my situation, what do you think are the most important steps I can take in my goal of purchasing 2 properties this year? I know I will probably have to creatively finance my deals since I do not have the funds to do a 20% down on houses in this area which are $175k+ ARV. What should I be doing daily to create constant progress towards this goal? I always try to evaluate myself and my progress but having an outside opinion is very valuable. Thank you for taking the time to read this post.