Do what it takes to get that first deal under your belt.

I am handy so I plan on doing those projects myself to save some cost.Now that we have house number one under our belts, we are excited to work on our second property! 

I have around 10 R.E. transactions under my belt but still consider myself a newbie.  

We have also found several smaller local banks and credit unions in border areas (New England, the Rust Belt) that will make secured loans to Canadians.

Learn from someone else's mistakes, don't reinvent the wheel, etc.My goal for my first deal is to financially partner on a flip with someone who has some successful rehabs under their belt so I can be involved in a deal, see firsthand all of the stages of the process, and learn the basics from someone with some proven experience. 

@Jessica Sanders woa, 7 month old post!

What I was figuring was that to get experience under our belt Do Hard Money, could be used to help fund, but quickly realizing that I'm gonna need to be able to fund the rehab too. 

Tell them you will rent the sander from Home Depot when they want to refinish.

On this team is someone who has a couple deals under his belt (mostly flips though).

“Joe”, learn all you can, get that first Deal under your belt!!