Approval odds, flips and introduction

[Luca Ruggiero]

Hi Everyone! Happy Thanksgiving Eve! My name is Luca, I’ve been a member for a while here and have been listening to the podcasts and reading on everything real estate for a little over a year now. This is my first ever post! Ive decided that a flip would be a great way to start my real estate adventure with my wife. My wife is a realtor and I have a background in construction/remodeling. Im posting in general discussion because i have a bit of a range of questions and would really appreciate input from BP.

1) I am currently torn between going in on a project without an investor. Problem is We just purchased our home in april and got married in august. So im not entirely sure how my loan approval odds are looking. My question is, how beneficial would it be to get rid of a car payment($255/month). Would that extra $3000 per year make a difference getting a loan approval for 75k-125k?

2) My next question is regarding auction purchases. I have been looking at tax delinquent properties(in the philadelphia are). I have recently read that if a property is purchased at auction, the original owner(who lost the house) can essentially buy back the house within 9 months of ME purchasing the property. Fortunately, I would get the money back for what I paid. BUT, any money put towards renovations would be lost. Is this true, and is there any way to avoid or get around this issue? Or is this just not in our control?

3) What types of loans can be used to buy auction houses. Can an FHA 203k loan be used?

Thanks for anyone who has read this far! Hope to hear back soon!