Ready to Jump in! Help!

[Cami Bohn]

Hi everyone! I have been reading forums nonstop for the last week and I am so glad I found this resource! It has been amazing! Thank you to all of you already!

I come here because we have been entertaining jumping into real estate investing but finally feel ready to jump right in!

We bought our first home in 2018 and VERY SLOWLY renovated it. We bought it for $175k and expect to sell it for anywhere between $225-$250k. We live in a city where there are ALMOST NO renovated houses. So, just to test the waters, we listed our home and we had A LOT of interest at $250k. My first question is, what happens if the home appraises for only $230k or $215k? If the buyer is financing, what happens then? I feel like we can get more of what the house appraises for because it's such a gem and rarity to find in this city.

Now in terms of our next home, we would love your help! We don't plan on moving into it, like we did with our current home. So we expect to pay the 15% down. Any tips on finding a lender to do investment property loans with? Our home loan was with a bank last time and I'm just not sure they would be the best to go with this time around. Do you recommend using a smaller lender? Or someone you know? Any tips appreciated!

Next is splitting an investment. My brother-in-law was blown away by what we did with our home. He would love to invest in our next property with us. He lives out of the country but would love to help us out with the down payment. We would do all the renovations and paying for them (whether we DIY or contract out the work). What types of splits have you done in that type of situation? Since we are putting in the labor or finding a property and flipping it, what would be a fair split on the down payment and then on the profits? Please let me know if we are missing anything here.

And our last question is... What do you look for in an ideal first property? We aren't sure if we will flip it and sell it as soon as we finish renovating it OR if we buy my brother-in-law out (since I believe he expects a quick turnaround) using the equity we will build up and keep it as a rental property.

Thanks so much again!! I appreciate all your advice!