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Updated about 9 years ago on . Most recent reply
Came into some money, want to try flipping a home in Colorado
I came into some money awhile back and would like to take a this coming semester off from college to try to make some money flipping a home. College is taking longer than expected and I am using a lot of cash to attend college full time; engineering degrees are tough and I applaud anyone that can get these degrees while also holding down a job of any kind!. I would like to try to earn some money while I still have enough cash to attempt a home renovation.. I have sick family members that require attention and money, odd jobs weren't providing the kind of cash my family needs to dig out of the hole we have found our selves in so I am going to school for engineering so that I can make more money in the long run. I am hoping that if I approach this with a sound mind and open eyes that I can make a little bit of cash so I can continue school, otherwise I have to quit school and find a job so that we can save money for hard times. I have thought about doing this for years and I would like to get some input from people that have experience with all of this. I live in Colorado, just north of Denver. The real-estate market seems to be doing well right now, perhaps due to the high amount of people moving to colorado since the legalization of marijuana. I can easily afford to buy a home to rehab at $180k or less with $50k to spend on the rehab, these numbers can fluctuate.I have been checking the market a lot and seen many houses that seem to be structurally sound but cosmetically destroyed for under $200k.I do not have a good work history being that I have been in school, I worked odd jobs until I came into money and took the opportunity to get a degree. I have a 698-705 credit score. I have had my money invested in mutual funds, bonds and even in the stock market for awhile but I was always losing money so this did not help me gain any kind of income. I have cash to spend but it would be nice if I could find a way to finance the property instead of spending all this cash upfront and I do not have anyone that can co-sign anything for me. Do people typically spend cash or get financing on the properties that they are renovating? I have done my own home repairs and cosmetic fixes but I would not be able to do any work on any other property that requires a permit or license, fixing my own home is one thing. I am simply wondering if my idea of making even a little bit of money by flipping a home is ridiculous? or, if it is possible if I approach the opportunity properly? If I take the semester off I would have from January through August to make some money. Any input, advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Ps. This is not a spur of the moment idea that I have stumbled upon, I have done research repeatedly and wondered about this for years. I have ran numbers and looked at hundreds of houses online, pricing the costs to fix the problems that I can identify from the photos and pricing the total costs and overall profits given the selling prices of comparable homes in the neighborhood. I have read people's stories about their home renovation experiences and watched tons of videos online and on tv about home renovations. I have a good basic, idea of what home flipping entails.
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@Michael Hunt my advise is to stay in school. There is no quick cash for the beginner in flipping homes. Most people loose money on their first flip, even the ones that eventually become successful. Sure you could be the exception but the chances of that are pretty slim. You mentioned the funds you have available but did not mention holding any back to live on. Make sure you have money to live on while you flip.
You can get expensive hard money loans to purchase a property. For example if you purchase a $200,000 property and put $100,000 down and used your own money to flip there are lots of folks that would pay loan you the $100,000 at 15% plus 4 points.
Finally it seems you chose engineering as a degree because of the income potential. I am an engineer and I can tell you this. engineering is a good living (middle to upper middle class) but it will not make you rich (1%er). The engineers that get rich do so because they own the business. Very very few fall into that category. I have made more in real estate as a side business in 15 years than I made as an engineer working full time for 25 years. Now don't get me wrong engineering supported me while I built the real estate and that is where the rub comes. It is very very difficult to start out making a living in real estate. Very few can pull it off. It's not very hard to grow wealth on the side with real estate and, over time, it will blow away the 9 to 5 job for wealth creation.
My advise again, finish the engineering degree and get a job in that field. Use that income to propel your real estate investing fortune. Sorry to rain on your parade. I wish you well.