New Novice Member from Dallas

[Elliot Collins]

Hello BP Community!  I'm really excited to be a part of this great group!

I'm a real estate agent/investor in the Dallas area.  My long term goal is to sustain myself with passive income so that any additional money that I earn is a cherry on top.  My short-term goal is to either buy and hold or flip a property in the next 3-6 months.  I'm unsure as to which option to take.

A little about me: I currently have 1 leased rental property with good cash flow and 1 property that I have been rehabbing for almost a year.  I will most likely also lease this place in the next month or two but there's a small possibility that I'll sell.  The rehab property was my first flip and hasn't gone perfect but the overall experience has been really educational.  I purchased for higher than I should have and have rehabbed to a higher quality than necessary for the area, but I will be able to rent it out for a good profit or sell and make a little bit of money.  All that being said, I'm even more eager to find another project and do better after that particular experience and listening to the BP podcasts.  

I'd like to have more capital to work with for future deals so I'm leaning towards a flip (I also teach school and could do a significant portion of the work myself this summer) but am unsure if it may be more beneficial to sell the soon-to-be rental that won't likely be quite as profitable and use that money for a flip (I wouldn't meet my summer flip timeline then), get conventional financing, or use some other type of financing.  I'm nearing the end of my purchasing power based on the 3 mortgages that I currently have and don't know if I should just try to max out or do something else.  Any thoughts?  I'd love to hear what some vets have to say about what to do at this point.

Also, I'm partial to the idea of buy and hold, but I recognize that I'll probably need liquid assets to get the best deals.  Given that I want to eventually live off of income from buy and hold properties, what are you guys' thoughts on balancing flipping and buy and hold?

Lastly, I'm interested in learning more about wholesaling and other parts of the real estate industry.  Are there any nearby Meetups happening any time soon?

Sorry for the long intro but thanks in advance for the advice!!