Chattanooga boy...just getting his feet wet

[John Shiraef]

Hello Everyone! Man oh man am I glad I found this place! Kudos to Mr Dorkin for making this thing happen. After sifting through all the crap that is out there on the web I can't tell you how refreshing it is to finally find some solid information.

I recently returned from a deployment to Iraq and I have some cash saved up. Not much, but just enough so that it's burning a hole in my pocket. Gotta love these interest rates . I've always been a Mr. Fixit and have dreamed of rehabbing old homes and reselling them. Now I have the time to jump in the game and a little leverage to get me going. I would like to start from square one and document my experience here in detail for the benefit of anyone else who wants to learn from my successes and/or failures. At the same time, I hope to benefit from the advice available here.

Where I am at: So far I've picked a location. It is Chattanooga where I grew up so I know the area pretty well. I am still getting to know the market but it looks fairly ripe due to a revitalization effort that began at the riverfront that is now picking up speed and moving through the downtown and surrounding communities like a ripple in a pond. I am from the Highland Park neighborhood and it has had a significant makeover with lots of trendy couples and families moving in. Also, the artsy fartsy types with money are beginning to migrate to the downtown areas.

I have initiated contact with a Realtor who is a friend of the family and she claims to be one of the top agents with Crye-Leike. She claims to have plenty of experience with investors and says she is willing to do most of the stuff that you all suggest a good agent should do. From my limited perspective Chattanooga and the current market seem very ripe for the pickings. Lots of distressed homes and bank repos that appear to be going for pretty cheap.

What I would like to do: I would like to start small in order to familiarize myself with the process of finding buying rehabbing and flipping a home. The devil is in the details and I want to know every cotton-picking detail. Currently, in Chattanooga there are a crapload of foreclosures/REOs in the 10 to 25K range. I want to pay cash for a steal, fix it, and flip it as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, I qualify for the current 8K gift from our dear leader, Mr Obama; so I may want to revise my strategy based on your recommendations.

My question for you all is if you were in my shoes where would you start? What would your strategy be? Am I headed in the right direction? I am all ears and I look forward to working hard, sharing much, and tapping into your extensive experience in the biz.

(My apologies for being so lonq-winded. I like to write. :mrgreen:)