Living in my first flip: What would you do?

[Lindsay Denny]

Hi all -- as I'm just starting out, I'd love your thoughts on general routes I'm considering for my first fix & sell property. My main question is whether I should live in my first flip? 

Context: My husband launched his own business last year and we've invested much of our savings into his company. I'm researching creative financing options for my first flip as I don't have a large amount cash on hand (FYI I've had a stable job for the past 4 years and have excellent credit if I were to go the traditional route). We moved from Texas to Philadelphia this past year and are currently renting. We plan to purchase our own home in the next 6-12 months. 

These are the 3 scenarios I'm entertaining:

1) Secure financing and do my first flip while continuing to rent our own apartment. Downside would be that it would require more $$ to flip while renting and I'm trying to be as cash conscious as possible short-term. Upside is that I could move forward with my goal sooner (3-6 mo), then purchase our own home following the flip. 

2) Purchase an inhabitable property as our first flip and live in it while rehabbing. The major downside is that I would want to sell ASAP following the rehab and don't want to be penalized with capital gains tax since we wouldn't be in the property for 2 years. The other issue would be timing with selling the property and simultaneously finding our permanent home. Upside would be the $ saved as we would be combining our living expenses with the flip.  

3) Purchase our own home first and flip a property second. Downside would be the delay in completing my first flip. Upside would be more time to save cash, research/network, and potentially get my real estate license sooner (that was something I was planning to do longer term anyway). 

I've received some conflicting advice from other flippers and would appreciate further input. Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer!

Lindsay