The great escape from corporate America

[Scott Russ]

Hello Bigger Pockets!  Looking forward to making some great connections and getting some great education here.

I live in the Phoenix area and am at the very beginning stages of my real estate investing journey.  For some time now I have been planning my escape from corporate America (been in the IT industry for 20 years).  That plan has included simplifying my financial situation to the point that I am no longer dependent on a large salary and the risk of making the jump into real estate is more tolerable.  In about a month the final stage of that plan will take place when I move into a smaller home and put my current larger home on the market.

Once my larger home sales I will be in a place where I have about $30,000 available for investing and my day job will net me (after bills and taxes) another $5,000/month to add to that investment total.  I have a relationship with a realtor who also has experience flipping houses and I plan to partner with him for my first flip in a situation where I put up the capital and he does the work and shows me the ropes.

I welcome any advice you're willing to give to a newbie on how to structure the investor/flipper relationship and any advice you can give on funding my first flip. Is $30,000 enough to get started? Should I wait until I build that bigger? What kind of financing should I look at (private hard money, traditional, etc.) I should also mention that I am a veteran and can leverage the VA loan if it makes sense as I will be living in a home that is in my fiancee's name and will have no mortgage in my own name.

Looking forward to the conversation!

-Scott