newbie flipper

[Johnathan Osborne]

Flippers,

I am newbie looking to invest for the future and have been a member on Bigger Pockets for some time.I have read and am still reading regarding flipping and the flipping process.My short term goal is to flip with the hopes of funding for future buy and hold for long term.I am ordering J. Scott’s books and have read many articles/postings on Bigger Forums.

Now for what I see as a dilemma: So is it possible for a newbie to flip houses two hours away from home?I live in a very rural area north of Asheville, NC which does not have much going on as far as real estate movement so I’m looking at other areas.Asheville is hot right now and has set record sales/prices for 2015.This has put the little inventory that is available out of my price range.Asheville would be my long term goal.According to Zillow (which I’m not sure how accurate it is) market health index for Asheville is 9.4/10.Other areas I’m considering are Greenville, SC (market health index 7.8/10 ) and Johnson City, TN (index of 5.9/10), both with more inventory in my price range.Asheville is 35 minutes from my house, Greenville 2 hours, and Johnson City 1 hour.

I have made contact with a realtor in the Greenville area and that area really looks like it has potential.

I am a Nurse and my wife is a Physical Therapist so we have W2 income and would not need to live off flipping.I also have 3 days off a week to manage rehabs, plus downtime at work for research/studying markets.

[Valerie Hiscoe]

I bought property from a 'one-stop shop ' realtor in a city a 2 hr flight away. It's been a nightmare.  I ended up having to move there for a month to oversee the RE-Rehab personally.  Things that I had paid for were either not done or done very VERY poorly. Example: they "rewired" the electrical with a new 220 box but there's still only a 60 amp feed going into it. They disconnected the gas and switched to electric and now the 60amps can barely handle the load. And that's just a couple of examples. It's going to be quite a while before I will trust anyone to do things without DAILY checkups. Even then, every time I went to the store, I'd come back and something had either broken, been done incorrectly, or was heading in that direction. So, to make a long story short, how many days a week do you want to drive two hours?  For your first flip, I'd be there.

Just a few other notes:

Does the realtor you're in contact with invest? Flip? Know what Bigger Pockets is? If not, you may be dealing with a 'home buyers realtor', and what you may want is a realtor with the experience and contacts an investor needs. You don't just want to buy something that you can afford to - you want something you can sell for a profit. And make sure your ARV is for that neighborhood, not three blocks away because a B area transitions to a C area pretty quickly. A 'C' area is a whole different thing so make sure you know who the neighbours are and how much rent they pay so you can calculate your backup exit plan realistically. And remember, the market health measure is the past, look for an area with a future. Make sure you have a clear understanding of what will affect demand. Buy the neighborhood, not the market. The future (are they building a new Walmart? Starbucks?), not the past (is a big employer on the verge of relocating and the corner mart struggling to make ends meet?). Drive through the neighborhoods and find the ones where your price and their potential coincide. Look at zoning and planned growth. How many building permits have been pulled? Start going as often as you would once your rehab starts. Is it a commute that works for you?

These are some of the things I've learned the hard way.  I had been told about them but I trusted other people to do my research and to do what they said they'd do.  Hard lessons. Lots of people quit after one. I sure wouldn't. And it was way more fun being there. So have fun. And read those books.