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That is exactly what my thoughts were. However you can use what you have already to gain more with virtually no out of pocket cash then you are way ahead of the game so long as the numbers work. Get the 3 properties, hold them and let them pay for themselves. Your young at 31 and you have a good income coming in that will sustain you without having to "live"off of your investments. Hold them 10 years and allow them to appreciate. Now you have some real options. Continue as is, refi and buy more, use the equity as collateral for your 20% and buy more with nominal out of pocket cash, take some of your excess cash and make short term high interests hard money loans, cash out and go buy an island in the caribbean, etc. You are in a great position, just be smart and look at all alternatives.

I just re-read your post and see you are using financing, so the following post is really just for information only for those who may not undersrtand cost of money.

Ok so here is my 2 cents. In none of your senarios have you talked about using financing. After reading your post I cannot tell if you are planning to finance the deal or go in all cash.
Lets assume you are planning all cash. If that is the case then I would advise you take a look at a finance deal. Use some of your cash for the 20% down and finance the rest. If the numbers work then do that. Here is a reason I rarely hear anyone quote. YOur interest rate is always lower than what you are actually getting a loan for. The reason is the government gives you credits for interest paid effectively reducing your cost of financing. It is an old Finance 101 class. Lets say you get a loan for 8%. By deducting interest expense on your taxes you are effectively reducing the amount of money you have to pay out in taxes. Applied to the interest rate you are paying, it lowers the effective rate. So maybe it goes down to an effective rate of 5%. Here is the decision time. CAn you take the cash you have remaining and invest it in something that earns you more than 5%. I believe you can so in essence you are ahead of the game if you can find a cash investment that is yielding more than 5%. These numbers may not be exact but the concept is there. Keep your cash and use it to help yourself get into more properties. People love to give you loans if you got cash in hand.

Now, I would keep the 15 unit deal, finance the 50 unit deal if the numbers work, and maybe use the equity you have in the 15 unit to put up as collateral for the 3rd smaller property you mentioned. Hopefully you can do all of that and keep more of your money in your pocket. My thoughts are, dont go backwards by selling if you have an income producing propert. Find a way to keep it and buy the others.

Ok, here goes. At this point research everything on Wholesaling. It essetnially requires no money or credit as you are typically just finding the deals and putting them together with an investor. Once you have the hang of wholesaling then you can decide what you want to do after that weather it is rehabs or landlording.

Find the local REI group in your area and join it before you do anything else. Use it, attend their meetings. This in networking paradise and you will learn alot from these people. Dont just rush in, stand back and decide who are the real players, the real investors and then get to know them. These are the people that can give you good advice and help you in the right direction. They may even offer some mentoring services as well.

i have no real knowledge about Atlanta other than what I have read. But what I read looks good and it is a hot market. YOu have the time so that is a plus. Learn to find deals, learn what is a good deal, learn what the rehab costs are, what the ARV is, then learn how you take all that inof and put it together to create the deal. My guess if Atlanta is anytihing like Houston, if yuou find a deal that is a "DEAL" you can have it wholesaled within a day. Easy 3-5K for you.

I have a quick question on wholesaling a short sale. I understand the owner cannot receive anything. But is it ok for me as the investor to receive a fee for the deal or does it have to be done "double close". Could it be done by just signing a seperate promissory note with the end buyer? Is there another way to make this work without it being illegal and eating away at the wholesale fee with the double close.

Thanks

The scope of your question is way to vague. What are your plans with the properties you buy. Are you going to buy and hold(rental) rehab and retail, wholesale etc. Different ways to do each. You can do all of them without having alot of cash and even no cash but the deals have to be "deals". You can find plenty of lenders if there is enough equity in your deal. Research hard money lenders in your area and research investment lenders that provide rehab/refi loans. Both can be done with no out of pocket expense. Wholesaling can be done with no cash or loan on your part.
At this point I would really suggest you think about what you want to do, make a detailed plan on how you want to do it and then research it so you arent the guys crying when you lose your shirt. Join a local real estate club and start networking. These are full of information to help you make the decisions you need to make prior to buying your first property.

Skip tracing service is a good bet. There are some online sites you can pay and get access to alot of info as well. Ask neighbors, sometimes they know. Send a post card, sometimes it will get forwarded by the mail to the owner.

I disagree with some of these folks. If you find a "real deal" you do it or someone else will. Bottom line is you dont turn down a deal that is right. Now you better make sure it is right or you can fall into the pitfalls some have stated. Make sure you have multiple exit strategies. All numbers work etc. Maybe you even just whoesale it and get the quick cash.
Now if I am reading this correct you are looking for a rehab to rental property. For those you dont necessarily have to go hard money. Look for the rehab to perm loans. Much less in cost than true HML and they refi it after repairs are done with essentially no money out of pocket. Again, make sure it is a real deal. You can still pocket your cash and keep it for a rainy day but dont let a well thought out, deal slip past you. I gaurantee you will kick yuourself EVERY time you drive by it and the investors that told you to wait will be the ones scooping up those babies and making the profit for themselves. Point is, never stop looking no matter waht you are currently doing. No one said you have to buy and hold everything you do. Keep your options open.

One final note that I should have mentioned but did not. Never work off of their asking price. Come up with your own using the formulas that were given. That is your offer price. (You can use their price as a reference.) If your number is higher than their asking price then fantastic you make more $$$. If it is lower, dont make allowances and try to make it work. Offer what is right for you and not necessarily what they are "asking". In fact, I tend to offer lower than the dollar amount I really want to spend as it gives me some room for negotiation to help the seller feel better about the deal. The most important rule is

Make your money when you buy and not when you sell.

I have a spread sheet I use to look at potential deals that takes into account most of the things that pop up including closing costs, realtor fees if used, utilities during rehab, hard money fees and interest, arv, purchase cost and alot of other junk. IF and this is a big if, you are accurate on your reahb costs, dont use a realtor to help you sell the place (my formula uses 6% of sales price) this place can make money. It is slim but will make money. If you can get the financing for less than the HML fees I took under consideration (4 points and 14% interest) then it should bring in a tidy chunk of change. Somewhere in the area of 40-50K( this is with a cash deal) according to my estimates. So this dog may hunt and it may not. Like I said you really better be right on with your comps and all your fees. If you are good to go there then I would go for it. Just keep in mind that if you are using hard money this deal may be a little tight for them. Let us know how it goes.

You dont give us enough details to give you an opinion. Particularly the purchase price. Here would be the formula you should factor this deal with and you decide.

ARV (use only sold properties for your values, do not use the local asking price)

multiplied by 70% (Thsi can be somewhat flexible if you arent using hard money and the deal warrants a deviation. It is a good rule of thumb though)

Take that and reduce it by the amount of your repairs and all of your acquisition costs and an error margin( I always use 10% of the cost of repairs for those little uh ohs).

That will give you a good idea of the maximum amount to offer.

So here are the numbers based on what you gave us.
Assume true ARV is 150K

150K*.70= $105000.
105000-50K(repairs)-5000(repair contingency)-20K(your mortgage and taxes)-20K(your holdiong costs)=$10,000.00

There you have it. Pay 10K and you will have a 45K profit on the deal based on your numbers. Seems a bit ludicrous doesnt it. Anyway, if you are going to go with Hard Money to fund the deal, (and I am basing this on your costs you mentioned which seem out of whack by the way), they will require the 30% margin in order to loan you the money. Some may even want the deal to be in the 35% range.

My thoughts are as follows.
1. You really need to find out more about true comps for the area. Not based on what the house down the street is listed for but what similar properties have actually sold for recently. KNOW YOUR MARKET
2. I would ask that you verify your numbers on your acquisition costs because they seem really out of whack. Where I am a HML would run you about 12K on a 100K note for a 6 month term. Taxes couldnt be 20K on something in this value range.
3. Again research your closing costs. I dont know anything about where you live but in Houston the closing costs are in the area of 2% going in and 3% on the sale. That doesnt count realtor fees which could be what you are including in your costs.
4. how solid are you on your repair costs? They are pretty high and that is a sign of a lot of work needed. Lots of surprises on houses that need alot of work. Better be certain or get someone to help you make sure of your costs. That 5K contingency will go fast if you miss a major structural, electrical or plumbing issue.

That should give you some things to consider. Let us know how it goes.