Make offers on both properties at a price point that makes sense for you to make money and considers the cost to renovate & the vacancy rates.

This is ingrained in us because the NAR Code of Ethics prohibits us from soliciting business from another realtor's clients, but there's also a certain protocol and level of professional courtesy involved, and listing agents expect to hear from the buyer's agent if the buyer is represented.I've also had instances where a seller inadvertently sent documents directly to the other agent before I reviewed them, and it ended up costing them time and money.

*Keep a journal of my progress, and keep my REI journey in line and prioritized appropriately with my faith, my family, and my W2 job (Not planning to quit my day job any time soon).My goals for the rest of the year:*Keep doing the daily work*Continue to invest in education (Not spending $$$$ on the national gurus.

My thinking is the storage unit at 2600 mo is much more wiser than 54k in the money market at 5.2 %. 

@Ramiro De Leon Congrats on taking the first step of saving up money and preparing yourself for your first purchase!

@Matteo Girlando one thing to consider is find private money, make a cash purchase and let it season if your lender has any title seasoning requirements.

But I would say “Consider your timing.”Real estate is expensive right now, and money  is expensive right now (APR wise).The fed is expected to start cutting rates later this year.  

With short term investing too, if you have a popular property, I would say that rates almost do not matter because you are making so much money!

This house does have potential but will need a lot of updates (and money), both in the immediate and long term future in order to make it what I am looking for.

What is the best way to spend. let's say, $5000 to get leads that will potentially result in at least one deal closed, so you can get your money back and reinvest.