Should I start with Wholesaling or Flipping?

Question

Hello Bigger Pockets Family,

I need help getting started. Fear has kept me from investing earlier but as I've began to educate myself, that fear has gone and I am ready to begin. I've been thinking about whether to start with Wholesaling or Flipping but not really sure which route would benefit me the most.

My current situation...

I am a Banker of 3 years, my credit score is 713 with no capital. I live in Florida and I know that there are deals out here and have a found a few but could not make any moves on them because of no funding and I don't know how to approach someone with the deal because I'm still having a hard time understanding how the numbers work, in regards to figuring out the profit that can be made. I would like to transition from my full time job to being a full time investor. My dilemma is that as a banker, there is a conflict of interest to work with my clients on personal investments, so I have to be extremely careful or I risk losing my job, which we cannot afford. I've created a business for investing purposes and to protect my assets, as I acquire them. I'm just stuck on where to begin.

My questions...

For someone totally new to real estate investing:

How should I start as a Real Estate Investor?

What are some creative ways to build capital to invest in real estate?

Is there anyone in the West Palm Beach, Florida area interested in working with a new investor?

Brian Gibbons · Answer

@Norris Fils-Aime

1. Cut expenses or increase income getting a part-time job on top of your full-time job

2. Learn about creative financing

3. Go to an REIA meeting locally, and tell everybody that you will do anything it takes to LEARN REAL ESTATE INVESTING, such as any job they don't want to do; for instance doorknocking, stuffing envelopes, putting up flyers, data entry, anything

Steve Vaughan · Answer

Welcome @Norris Fils-Aime!  A lot of folks begin flipping or wholesaling to build capital.  It's not easy, though.  Those 2 activities require the most knowledge of the entire RE process, IMO.  It all starts with obtaining a deal.  Get the word out that you are looking for property.  Business cards, index cards in the grocery stores and stuff.  Let the world know!  Money will find the deal if you have it.

In the meantime, cut out ALL non-essentials and build capital.  Not having money is usually a symptom of fancy cars, restaurants/coffee shops and malls.  Drive your beater with your home-brewed coffee and brown bag lunch to your first closing!

Vincent Crane · Answer

You need to have capital, even if you do something that's not expensive like wholesaling. If you can house hack and live for free it might go a long way in helping you save more money more easily.

Norris Fils-Aime · Answer

@Brent Coombs, my bank does offer loans but does not offer them for investment lending. Because I work here and know the internal scope of things, it is illegal for us to turn anyone away for trying to get a loan but I know for a fact that they don't get approved.

Rest assure that I will continue working here until, my income in Real Estate Investing is consistent.

Brent Coombs · Answer

@Norris Fils-Aime, can you approach your OWN Bank for funds? (At least they know your stable work history - but you had better hope that your boss isn't a BP member reading your post)!

And yes, in the meantime, get those savings happening. No bank likes customers who can't prove that they don't just spend every dollar they earn just to survive!

Everyone likes the idea of being able to give up the daily grind. But, it's not a good idea to get ahead of our selves.

Welcome to BP. Cheers...

Stefan Augustyniak · Answer

Wholesaling is going to be the cheapest route to beginning in REI because the capital required is minimal.  If you start with $100k single family homes, you can sometimes get away with a $1k deposit.  You could start by driving for dollars, looking for rundown shacks, offering 50 cents on the dollar and wholesale it for 60 cents on the dollar.  Above all, the hard part is finding right deals...if you do that, the startup money will fall into your lap.  Good luck!

Curt Davis · Answer

You might try to locate a private lender if you are looking to fix and flip.

You can also use a private lender to buy and renovate your property and then refi out of the private loan, sometimes with no extra out of your pocket if you know how to structure it correctly.

Good luck

Should I start with Wholesaling or Flipping?

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