Buying our first home....possible rental or flip?

[Duncan Canter]

So my wife and I are getting ready to buy our first home and I have had a couple ideas going through my mind just don't have enough knowledge about getting into real estate.

Option 1

There are a couple nice homes we have looked at. That's at max budget. Nothing needs to be done to the homes. We buy it and live there.

Option 2

We buy a cheap duplex, fix it up and live in one side for awhile. Rent the other side out. Save up more money to get another down payment for a second property.

Option 3

We stay where we are (rent free) and find a really cheap house to put some money into and flip it for a profit. Then rinse and repeat until we find a house we would like to move into.

And please no criticism I am still new to learning the industry. So any teachable comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Amanda Blain]

Hi Duncan what is your goal with getting into real estate and what can you "live" with for your own living situation? As you've laid out these are all good options with different outcomes. Option 1 might be considered less of an asset and more of a liability depending on your own income, local market, and timeline you plan to live there. Option 2 is a great way to house hack starting out and learn what it's like to be a landlord if you plan to build your portfolio with rentals. Option 3 generally gets you a boost of cash faster than rentals but do need to consider capital gains tax.