@April Chim, I'm glad you asked this question, as it is a question I also had when getting started (I'm still a rookie, so bear with me lol).
There are many possibles ways to approach real estate with little to no money, but be warned, they will most likely require more time, effort, and creativity, than traditional methods. In essence, instead of using money to get started, you will have to use hustle, time, and creativity, Trading one for the other.
One option is avoiding banks all together, AKA seller financing. Like I said much harder to come by, which means harder work to find. For this method you will need to find someone who owns their free and clear, and is willing to carry the note. This means they will act as the bank, and you will pay them monthly principle and interest payments, just like you would to a bank, and you get the title of the property in your name. The reason people can be swayed into doing this, is because you can explain to them that this option would spread out their taxes, they stay ahead of inflation, and the get a passive monthly income, without any responsibilities, not to mention they end up making way more than what they are selling the property for. Let me use numbers to explain:
In scenario 1, they sell the property to you for $100,000, using traditional financing. They will have to pay around 6% in commissions to the agents, and also capital gains taxes (I believe it is around 30%, either way it is large, and they will have to pay it.), not to mention any closing costs they will have, I'll use $1,000 for this example. With these numbers they will end up selling for $100,000, but after all expenses and taxes, they will end up with $63,000 profit, that's a $37,000 expense!
However, you will present them with option 2, in which they will carry the note for 30yrs, at 6% compound interest, with no down payment, the number will look like this:
You will pay them $599.55/month for 30 yrs. Which means, they will make a total of $215,838.45 on the sale, over $100,000 more, and they will not have to worry about paying property taxes, insurance, doing maintenance, dealing with tenants and evictions, and so on. They will also be able to spread out the taxes from the sale over a longer period of time, instead of paying them all at once, and possibly at a smaller taxable %! As you can see both parties can greatly benefit.
This is just one out of many methods you could use, other options include land contracts, private money lenders, partnerships, seller financing with a balloon payment, and so on. Remember, this is about being creative, so the possibilities are endless. You will also have to use creative methods for finding these deals, you will likely not find them on the MLS. I think driving for dollars is a great way to go. Drive neighborhoods, look for houses that seem to be in distress, or vacant, write down the addresses, go home and look them up of the county assessors website in order to obtain the owners mailing address, and send them a letter asking if they want to sell, and let them know you might be able to help them. Again this is just one out of many methods of finding these deals, I believe the most important way to find deals and good opportunities, is to network as much as possible.
I highly recommend you read the book 'Investing in Real Estate with Little to No Money Down'. When you are using creativity instead of money, you will need to "fill your toolbox", meaning read and educate yourself, so when you come across a potential opportunity, you will be able to present creative options to a seller, according to their particular situation.
I hope that this information helps you, and that you will be able to find the deals you are looking for! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Good Luck!
