How soon should I start my next project?

[Mathew Stephenson]

Hello,

I am closing escrow on my first property in California late next month...Most of the work is done, and in fact, I am just waiting on the seller to close on a property, so I don't really have much left to do.  I am looking to flip a house next, and I want to gauge when I should do it.  I am currently planning on doing it next May/April, but I am kinda chomping at the bit to get started now.  Here is the situation...

I am looking to flip a house out of state where the prices are lower and I can afford more down on a hard money loan.  After this sale, I will have about $10,000 left and I can save about $1,000 a month so that means that I'll have 15-16K for the flip in May/April.  If I put 5% down on a flip that costs $120,000, it would be $6,000, which is totally doable.  My only concerns are obvious...

1. What if my current house needs random repairs?

2. What if the flip ends up costing more money than expected?

My question is what would you do in this situation?  Would you just wait a couple of months for the first house to stabilize, or just go for it and start the flip?  If you need more information just let me know.