Starting over after foreclosure

[Christopher Wilchensky]

I bought my first property in 2007 when I was 25 (and inexperienced). I bought on a whim as a long term rental (i overpaid majorly). The market crashed soon after. I had the property for 7 years and I had to evict tenants who destroyed the house. Long story short I ran up my credit cards on repairs and then eventually it became unaffordable as I was paying mortgage for almost a year for the vacant property. The house lost so much value that I had to let it go. I owed 89K and it was appraised for $33k. I tried short selling but didn’t get any offers.

My credit took a major hit and now I have a foreclosure on my record. You’d think I would never want to ever do this again but I still have the burning desire to get back in and make a career as a real estate investor. My question is, with my situation (foreclosure) and credit issues - how and where do I start? Should I try wholesaling properties to gain cash flow? Any suggestions? Anyone have a similar story?

-Philadelphia area