Dreaming of flipping a house

[Carmen Lewis]

Hello, My name is Carmen. I am new to the site. I live in the Dayton, Ohio area but would be willing to travel to Cincinnati if need be. I have 3 small kids, no money, bad credit, but I am determined to flip a house. I stumbled across this site while looking for information. I have no experience in real estate but it's something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Any information anyone can offer a newbie like me will be greatly appreciated! 

[Christina Carey]

Hi Carmen. You get 10 points for honesty. I'll be equally honest - broke with bad credit won't get you very far in the flipping business. But there are still things you can do to further your cause:

Read these two books published by J. Scott: The Book on Flipping Houses and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs. I know you said you had no money, but you need to get educated on the basics before you do anything else. Be careful surfing the internet for information - there is a lot of bad information out there.

Network. This is a people-oriented business. That old saying about "who you know" is 100% true. We also have a monthly networking meeting in Fairborn: Dayton REI Networking Meetup November 12, 2018

Attend a REIA meeting. The first one is free. The best two groups are within a reasonable distance are Greater Cincinnati REIA and Central Ohio Real Estate Entrepreneurs (COREE). Join one of them - you can attend either one with one membership.

Become a bird dog. Learn how to find deals for the people in your network. It's a cheap, no-risk way to get your feet wet and learn a few things. Bring a deal to the right person, you might be able to shadow them or even partner up - and of course, make a few bucks in the process.

With determination and effort, you'll get there.