I'm committed to getting in the game but still trying to figure out which market and niche to claim.

I highly recommend you go to a big SDSU Aztec game (students get free tickets). 

It would be an easy way to get your feet wet in the STR game and most importantly you eliminate the whole 12 month wait plus the additional 6-12 months it will take you to build.

These things define the game boundaries and help us play with the border and close to an edge ot two.

Yeah most are going to overbid, in part because they are not lacking work at the moment, it is a long term relationship game, lower rate quality vendors generally rely on volume, so find a way to provide that either through direct work or referrals.

So I won't go watch the game at my bud's new house. : ) Super bowl 2022..hopefully! 

My post is to really get people thinking about there end game and do they have a FI number in mind.

This is a longer post, but I am hoping to get some advice and potentially talk with someone farther along in the real estate game than us about what our next step should be.

That will tap out my liquid assets but I see a lot of potential for buy/rent/hold in this neighborhood.Hard money lenders seem like a sucker's game but I don't have experience in that world and would appreciate input.

Hi Dan,Real estate is fast-paced game and you need to be able to submit your offers quickly and confidently without waiting around for an inspector or a contractor to walkthrough the property and give you an estimate.Contractors are extremely busy right now, and it often takes several days (or even up to a week) to get an estimate back.You obviously can't wait a week in order to make an offer on a property, so you really need to be able to put together an estimate yourself without a contractor so you can submit an offer and get the property under contract before your competition.Unfortunately, if you don't have any experience with construction costs it can be nearly impossible to confidently put together an estimate, so here is the process I recommend for learning the process of estimating rehab costs:#1 Read 'The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs'First, you need to build a foundational knowledge of construction, inspecting properties and putting together a detailed SOW.JScott's 'The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs' is a great resource for new rehabbers to learn how to Estimate Repair Costs on 25 common rehab repairs.https://www.biggerpockets.com/store/the-complete-g...#2 Explore Lowes and Home Depot to Learn About Material PricingTake a tour through Lowes and Home Depot (or their websites) and look at finishes materials and fixtures that you will consider using in your rehab projects.