First Time

[N/A N/A]

My girlfriend and I are planning on investing in a rehab project. This would be our first time and we have a few questions. We have spent the last year reading and learning as much as we can about the business and we would like to get our feet wet. We don't have much money to use as far as a down payment or for actual rehab. Although we understand this is a large hurdle, we have to start somewhere. Now, for our questions...

1) What are the best financing options, if any, available for rehab projects that do not require a ton of $$ up front? I already own a home, but my girlfriend does not, so she has a better Debt to Income ratio for buying another home... although we are not sure if that matters when buying a home that will not be your primary residence??

2) We have researched starting our own company quite a bit. We researched starting an LLC vs. an S-Corporation or both and the benefits/pitfalls of each entity. Down the road, we hope to be involved in a wide range of real estate investments. Would it be beneficial for us to start the business before we start our first rehab project... to protect our personal liability, or should we wait? If it helps, we live in NC.

3) For the last 3 months we have been looking at different homes in our area and are ready to finally make the step to purchase. We have found one house in particular that we are interested in (if it is still available) that looks to be priced under the market value. It looks like all major rehab issues are ok; ac, water, heating, etc., but of course we will get a full inspetion. What are some tricks of the trade to get the most out of our investment for this home?

Thanks!
Sheppie