"You don't have to have a bunch of money to get started. ": According to real estate mogul Sidney Torres, you don't need a lot of money to flip your first property. And he knows from personal experience. When Torres first got into real estate in 1997, he was making only about $25,000 a year working at a construction company. With overtime pay, he brought home anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 a year, he tells CNBC Make It.