Look on your block. Any vacant abandoned home on your block is a prime candidate for your initial investment property. Go to real estate search portals and look for homes on the market for a long time. Eliminate the overpriced properties and focus on the distressed properties. These are the homes that will start your investing career. Don’t over-think it, do it.
Locate a property to begin the financing journey. Severely distressed properties will require equity lenders, commonly called hard-money. Properties requiring cosmetic and minor structural repairs or upgrades can qualify for less expensive financing. Rental ready homes usually require a significant down payment with relatively inexpensive terms. Your risk tolerance will dictate the level of construction your new career will begin at. Inexperienced people usually choose properties needing cosmetic repairs that they can perform themselves. More experienced investors look for structural and legal issues because they can provide skilled negotiator’s the greatest profit when the timeline and repair costs of such issues are known. The financing available to you and the cost will be a function of your risk tolerance (experience) and timeline.
First time financing an investment property will probably lead to an unfamiliar funding source. New investors will try to borrow from their personal bank, not realizing national banks have strict guidelines that cannot be violated. Credit unions are similar. The new investor must become aware of the lending options that are available to you. National Banks, State Banks, regional banks, and credit unions are usually off the radar for new investors that will not occupy the property. These same banks offer rehabilitation loans for property owners but rarely do they lend to purchase and repair the property. This is the domain of a group of little known lenders. Often individuals or syndicated groups of cash rich individuals seeking higher than market returns, they are usually contacted through specialized brokers that charge hefty fees. It is these investment real estate loan brokers that will usually become the new investors funding source for many years.
abandoned home 
home needs repair