First REI in a potential flip

[Chris Barry]

Hello to all. This is my first post in this forum and I am looking forward to being around a long time.

I have been a home builder for 25 years and a real estate broker for 30. As you know the market has been VERY flat for builders and real estate in general for quite some time.

I have built a couple of websites over the past 20 months as a sideline to being practically out of business as a builder. They have not provided me with income. As a result I show no income for 2009 and 2010.

My income has been well above average for the last 24 years and I have an 860 credit score the last time I checked.

I would like to buy my first fix and flip house and finance it 100% with a HELOC. I am a bit nervous since I am going from no debt to buying a house for, say, $150,000.

I don't know if financing it totally with a HELOC is a good idea, what price range is the best for flipping in Missouri or if flipping is even do-able in this market.

I have read four books and a lot on the internet about this endeavor but still have a lot of jitters about going into debt when I am not certain of the potential success.

I still need to do research regarding CMA for prospective areas and potential rent amount if I can't flip it. I would really like to flip a couple properties to generate income and build more confidence going into this.

An comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance.

Chris

[Account Closed]

Chris, there have been a number of recent threads about the current flipping market. Many are doing quite well it seems flipping in their particular markets while others are having a harder time. Not sure what your market is like.

I'm sure that over the years you have built a good sense of what it might cost to make any needed repairs. This will help considerably in this business.

The important thing is buying right, knowing your costs to get a property ready to resell (not over improving) , and finding buyers.

There are far more here on BP that know this process better than me though.

You may want to check out a recent thread
http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/55444-how-many-house-flips-rehab-deals-do-you-do-a-year-

There are many other threads that might provide useful contacts and information as well.