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