Success story. 1st flip with numbers 15k profit in a 28k invested

[Bara A.]

I want to share the following story with the BP community as a way to encourage others and most importantly, learn from others on how can I improve. So please, let me know if I should have done anything differently or better.

Background and thought process: I am a recovering academician with zero handyman skills and a ton of student loans. I have a full-time job and a ton of fear having witnessed the impact of the financial crisis as soon as I arrived in the US to go to graduate school in 2008. Therefore, I want to purchase something using cash money without getting a mortgage. That is why I chose an area with low price points around where I live. I am hoping that my next deals are in better areas. I want to be a buy and hold investor, but I can use flips to acquire cash and accelerate my buy and hold portfolio

Timeline:

September 2017: Learned about BP podcast and website.

January 2018: Singed up for pro membership.

January 2018- March 2018: looked at listed properties, analyzed deals using BP calculators, went to properties, met my real estate agent who is an investor in our area, and learned about property management by volunteering few days at a property management company.

March 20.2018. Acquired the first deal. Did not like to rent it because of the area. Therefore, I decided to flip it.

April. 28.18. Completed rehab and listed the house for sale.

6.24.18. Sold the house

Deal details:

3 BR.1bath brick house with attached 2 garage door in Flint, MI

Purchase price including closing cost, inspection, etc: $20,673

Rehab cost: $7,150 that I funded myself.

I estimated $5,000 but went over because hot water tank and furnace were STOLEN while the property was listed for sale (any tips on how to avoid that other than avoiding such locations are appreciated)

Rehab scope: minor plumbing, painting most bedrooms, installing light fixtures, replacing the carpet in one room, installing fence gate, landscaping, and other miscellaneous tasks.

Sale cost: $6,250 including realtor fees, seller credit (3% of sale price), title insurance policy, etc.

Profit: Sale price – [ acquisition price+ rehab cost+ sale cost]

=49.000- [20,673+7,150+6,250] = $14,927

Please feel free to comment on the following.

Things that I should have handled differently?

How does my profit margin compare to typical flips? I invested $27,823 and returned $14,927 of profit

Is my strategy of using cash generated from flips as a mean to accelerate reaching my buy and hold goals reasonable?

If you live in Michigan and have deals within an hour drive from Flint, MI, please let me know. I would like to get to know more like-minded people, learn from others and contribute.