Buy Now vs. Wait and the Best First Rental for Beginners

An episode of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast podcast, hosted by BiggerPockets, titled "Buy Now vs. Wait and the Best First Rental for Beginners" was published on September 17, 2025 and runs 36 minutes.

September 17, 2025 ·36m · BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

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Summary

Should you buy a rental property now or wait? If you buy now and prices rise, you’ll get all the appreciation that comes with it and have the chance to refinance at any point in the future. But waiting to have a larger down payment could get you a better loan and put you in a stronger financial position. You want to get into real estate investing soon, so what should you do? We’re answering this question, and more, on this Q&A episode where we field actual investor dilemmas and share what we’d do in these situations. First, the classic buy now or wait debate. Mortgage rates are falling, and so are prices in many areas, and if you’ve got just enough money to buy your first rental, is now the time to do it? Or, do you wait and save, bringing even more money to the table? Should you renovate a house as a first-time real estate investor? If done right, the benefits could be massive, but veteran house flipper James Dainard says there’s only so far into a renovation you should go as a beginner. Plus, do you want 100% financing as a new investor with no experience? We’ve got some interesting news for you! Finally, the one flipping metric to rule them all—what James uses on every flip to see if it’s worth it. See Dave and James live at BPCON2025. Limited tickets are still available! In This Episode We Cover Whether to buy a rental property now or wait until you have more saved up (is it worth it?) Should you buy a move-in-ready rental property or renovate as a beginner? Can new investors really get 100% financing on their first real estate deal? Why James stopped looking at “profit” before deciding on whether a flip is worth it How to get James’ personal advice on your next deal (you have to bring him this) And So Much More! Check out more resources from this show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BiggerPockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1175 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices