Suffering from Deal Paralysis for First Investment Property

[Anna Marie Holland]

Hello!

I’m new to the investment world and have spent the last few months getting to know as much as I can about the current market and absorb as much information as I can find, but I had a few questions before I dip my feet in the water because the last thing I want to do is get locked up in a project that maybe I shouldn’t have. I am someone who prefers to be prepared as much as I can be and know as much as I can before jumping into anything- especially legally binding contracts.

My goal in real estate is to start with flips and eventually work my way into actually hanging onto some of those and turning them into Airbnb or rental properties/buy and holds. So my question to all the veterans is:

what did your first deal look like? How was that experience?

Did you use a private or hard money lender or both?

Did you put money down or did you use OPM?

Did you hang onto it and refinance through the bank?

If you flipped it, how was that process? Was it a light rehab that only took a few months, or a full gut that took most of a year?

I'm in the Austin TX area and I want to jump into this and I've really been doing everything I can to learn from people here, youtube, webinars, Facebook groups, and the local REIA(although I feel I don't learn much other than what bigdog has to offer), I'm just not sure how to get my feet to move and I'm hoping your stories will provide me with just a little more knowledge and inspiration to finally start making moves. Thank you!