Just bought a house--now to flip it or rent it?!

[Ross Sims]

Hello! I'm not entirely sure this is the forum I should ask this, so if you know of a better one please let me know.

So a brief history of what got me here. I am 25 and am currently working two part-time jobs by choice. I'm also currently getting my real estate license for South Carolina. I plan to do that full-time but keep one of my part-time jobs (it's with my church.) Anyway, I just wanted to give you a little background so that you can answer better. So my father co-signed on the loan with me for my first home. I close on the property in 30 days.

I'm trying to decide what I want to do with the house going forward, whether to fix it for a flip or for a rental. I know people sometimes do quite a few flips in order to get capital to purchase a larger and nicer rental property.

I'm looking for advice for anything in this department, because I can't figure out which would be better for me. I do not make a lot of money at the time so it may be another year before I can buy another property but I want to know what I should do to this one in the meantime. I figured I would put more high end things in the house if I'm looking to flip it, versus renting it.

I bought the house for $98,500 with the seller paying closing costs. ARV in this neighborhood looks to be around $130,000 with an upgraded house. I have roughly $10,000 to spend on renovations. Here is the link: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7...

I plan to remove all flooring and put nicer laminate down throughout, with the exception of the bathroom. I plan to finish the ceiling in the converted garage, paint all walls of course, re-tile bathroom, add backslash in the kitchen. If the budget allows I would like to remove the wall between the living room and the kitchen, relocating the fridge. Although the cabinets and countertops are new, I don't love them. I'd like to replace the counter tops as well and maybe put in a farmhouse sink (but I feel like these kind of upgrades aren't essential for a rental.) The neighborhood is in North Charleston which has an overall stereotype of being a little low end, although there are many parts of it being gentrified. This is an established stable neighborhood.

The end goal for me is definitely a steady passive income, but flipping may help me get there. And I am new to all of this and don't have tons of handyman experience, my father is a wealth of knowledge in fixing things but doesn't live in the area so I will be consulting him a good bit on things. Gonna try to do my best to do things that I can and hire for what I need to. Have you found that there are certain things that aren't worth your time (removing popcorn ceilings, etc.)

Random Question: How long do you have to have rental income for the bank to include it in your income?

As of now, they would be live-in flips just so that I don't have an extra mortgage and a time crunch to finish. I want to eventually be able to purchase in the Summerville, SC area right outside of Charleston. It has grown exponentially the past few years and is still set to expand like crazy with Boeing and other companies coming in to the Charleston area.

I appreciate everyone taking the time to read this and I welcome all discussions about it!