Beginner Investor Interested in BRRRR

[Katherine Seigle]

Hello!

I am a beginner investor looking to purchase my first property. I have been doing lots of research, but am feeling a little stuck on making the first move. I have been listening to lots of webinars and reading books etc., but was looking for advice from some people with more experience than me.

I currently live in Charleston SC and have been renting a property for about 3 years with a roommate. I am sick of paying rent and would like to purchase a property that needs some work and do renovations while living in it. My current roommate (also a good friend) has agreed to move with me into a house that I purchase with the intention of renovating. I plan to move out of this city in the next 2-3 years, so I don't want to be stuck with a property that I will lose money on by selling in a short period of time and would like a source of passive income, so I am hoping for it to be profitable as a rental property in the future. 

Basically I am hoping to do the BRRRR method, but myself and my roommate will be the first "tenants" and live there while the renovations are being done. I haven't seen much information about doing the method in this way. I only have about $12k to spend in cash upfront so would need to take out a loan for the renovations. There is a property that I'm interested in that I think could be worth $305k after about $40k in renovations, and am thinking about making an offer for $220k (it's come down from $277k to $262k after being listed for 4 months). It needs 2 bathrooms renovated as well as some other cosmetic changes.

Does anyone have any advice for me on how to proceed? Tips/tricks/things to avoid/words of wisdom? I feel like I have been doing lots of research but don't know how to feel "prepared" to take the next steps. On one hand, I feel like it's very tricky to get the numbers to work out especially considering I don't have much cash available. On the other hand, since I am currently paying $900/month in rent and my roommate would be continuing to pay me $900/month to live in the house while being renovated, because we would live in the property I would need to be losing more than $1800/month for this to NOT be a profitable decision since that's what we are currently spending on rent, right?

Thank you so much for your time and consideration!