My goal is to learn as much as I can, connect with experienced investors, and start building my portfolio.I believe wholesaling offers a great opportunity to get my foot in the door without the large upfront capital required for traditional investments.

If you focus on a fixer upper you can renovate in 6 months and refinance on the ARV.You only need to be at a 85% LTV to refinance and its not hard to build 15% equity in a property in this market enviroment. 

Want to build without selling?

I’ve seen situations like this before..one old friend of mine in Austin had a few industrial buildings where the cash flow was decent but not dazzling, and he was itching for a way to ramp things up.

Some of these bookings we get through marketing partners who build these relationships and charge referrals fees for finding the housing.

Running numbers to build another storage location.  

Quote from @Dina Schmid: You can sell anything you want, but that doesn't mean it will qualify for a home loan or be accepted by a building inspector. 

Thanks for all the advice, I'll definitely have to research more as I go about how to build out my portfolio and whether I want to pay down the existing loans or buy more.

You are far more likely to find a mentor through in-person networking and building relationships.

If it was me...I'd check with zoning to find out how many dwelling units I could build, and I'd find what the requirements are for those units (type of house, height and setback restrictions, etc.).Then I'd find out what local builders think the cost to construct would be - just get a cost estimate per square foot for 2 or 3 different levels of finish.