Newbie wanting to do something smart with inheritance.

[Erica Winship]

Good afternoon everyone, my name is Erica and I am based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As described, my father passed away last June unexpectedly of a heart attack. Now that I am in the better parts of the grieving process, I need to face the fact that I will be coming up on an inheritance, and I want to do my best to do what he would do with it. My father did financially well in his life so to speak and was also a entrepreneur throughout his whole life. He was extremely creative on how he built his wealth and was even a college drop-out.

 I am 27 and for work I am a Graphic Designer a part of a marketing team, I understand this skill may come handy in the future. I am pretty set on the idea of trying out flipping one house, but I still keep an open mind. I am open to any input as of to where I get started and plan on listening to all the available BiggerPockets podcasts. I also have a landlord course that is offered for free through the state that I plan on taking as an exit strategy for me would be turning said flipped house into a rental if it doesn't sell in a timeframe I feel comfortable. I plan on using a realtor to help me walk through houses the first couple times and even obtain my first property, but plan on obtaining my own license in the process so I can eventually cut out that middleman. Any advice critiquing my path is much appreciated, I am happy to be here and am enthusiastic to meet people on BiggerPockets. Can't wait to meet you! 

[Rebecca Knox]

I agree with Joe. Be cautious as the vultures will come out and some people are very good at separating people from their money. Every con artist is charming. I think one of the most difficult things for a newer person is knowing the right questions to ask to vet a partner. 

If it were me, before doing a rehab, I would do what Joe said and buy a multi and live in one unit. You will get the experience of hiring and working with contractors on a smaller scale while fixing up the property. The other suggestion would be find a conservative flip for your first project--light cosmetic vs a full on gut job. This will also mitigate your risk while you learn some basic processes.  Where I see newer people get in the most trouble is over paying at the beginning, hiring people based off emotion rather than facts and over-doing it on their first project--knocking down walls in the older homes in Milwaukee can open a whole set of problems you may not have predicted. 

I work with many investors and most have an 'end' game of building passive income---either holding a nice rental portfolio or becoming a private money lender. The rehabs, wholesales and wholetails are all active income. 

You may find the BRRRR (Buy, rehab, rent, refi, repeat) strategy intriguing given your situation and your desires. You can still rehab while building financial freedom.

Also, speaking with an accountant that is seasoned in real estate investing might be helpful. My accountant is Eric Trost at SVA and he is amazing--knows every strategy used in real estate. 

The intriguing thing and what I love about real estate is once you start networking and talking with others, you learn so many different strategies you never would have thought of.