Ready to buy my first property! Kind of..

[Austin Powell]

Hi BP! First time post.

Im looking for a little advice from some of you seasoned REIs regarding things I can be doing in preparation for this journey. First off, a little about my situation. I work in the entertainment industry but always knew that wasn't going to be my forever job and given the current state of affairs really opened my eyes to the importance of financial freedom. Ive always heard about real estate being a great wealth catalyst but it never seemed like something I could be apart of...until I stumbled on the BP podcast. Ive spent the last year give or take reading books, listening to podcasts, establishing my criteria etc. I live in an insane market (LA) so breaking in here seems impossible, at least for now. My hometown is Jacksonville, FL where I still have lots of connections so I plan to start here. Im looking for a fixer single family or duplex to BRRRR. I spent 25 years in Jax and know the areas well. Fortunate to have plenty of "boots on the ground". Aside from acquisition, the most intimidating part of the puzzle is the financing. I have access to about 100k of private money to complete this first project (acquisition and rehab) but the thought of losing it and that persons trust is a true nightmare scenario for me. I want to really make sure I have a solid deal that can be refi'd after 6-12 months so Im analyzing deals constantly to sharpen that skillset. Whats a good rule of thumb be for reserves? Is there proactive steps I can be taking to help me be more bankable when it comes time to refi? Currently my income is virtually non existent due to COVID but historically done well. Credit score is around 700. I know these questions have a lot of factors that go into the answers but hopefully someone can shed some light. Any other advice related or not would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to share any stories of your first deal or let me know if you have any questions. Thanks in advance! Very excited to begin this journey