How did you finance your first flip?

[Amy Hua]

Hi Bigger Pockets, I’ve been doing a lot of research and am currently in analysis paralysis (also a little nervous to take the leap into Real Estate). I’m really interested in learning how to flip houses in Georgia but not sure about the best way to start. Could someone share with me their first flipping experience and how you funded your flip, how long it took, things to take into consideration, etc?

[Claire D.]

@Amy Hua Hi Amy, I am in a similar boat as you - currently in the education phase and hoping to flip a house in the next year or so.

For funding, I plan to use a hard money lender. I do not have enough of my own capital to meet the HML requirements, so I plan on using private money from friend or family to make up for the difference that the HML will not provide, and in return offer the private lender 50% of the profit. Although this is not the most lucrative option for myself, my goal is to just get experience and learn the process in my first couple flips.

As far as your last question goes on "are there any homes to absolutely not go for".... The way I plan to approach it at the beginning is to only focus on homes that need advanced cosmetic repairs. I am planning on avoiding anything with serious foundation repairs, sinkholes ( Florida problems..), or anything of the sort. Those kind of major/structural repairs seem to be hard to estimate for a newbie and can eat into repair budget and potentially cause you to ultimately lose money. Leave the complicated stuff to the pros...

 Just my two cents as a fellow newbie. Best of luck!