REI newb, wanting to wholesale my neighbor's gingerbread house!

[David Heyburn]

Hi BP folks,

So, I'm new to real estate investing, but not new to real estate - have been in different RE service lines for much of my career, but new to the investing 'game'.

I live in a quaint 'gingerbread house' neighborhood in Kansas City, and my neighbor who is 80+ lives in a 3/2.5 house that she bought for $17,000 in 1969! I looked up the Deed of Trust.  Her home itself needs TONS of work _ I've never been inside (been neighbors for 3 years) but from the front door I can tell it likely hasn't been touched in 30+ years, from the outside I can tell it definitely needs a new roof, downspouts are falling down etc. it's in pretty rough shape... Furthermore, her lot is a 'natural yard' which means she basically doesn't touch it - I've been tempted to call the city a few times... but hey, whatever. So, there is also a whole site clearance that needs to happen - multiple trees taken out etc...  Homes in our neighborhood of this size sell for about $350k-$400k

BOTTOMLINE - I think the home is perfect for a wholesale or fix & flip deal, and as her neighbor - I have a very strong interest in what happens with that property. But, I don't have a lot of cash myself. I've been exploring establishing a HELOC on my home to fund some investing, but my wife is a bit skittish about that - unless we use the funds to renovate our OWN home, which needs a bit of love and more bedrooms/bathrooms/ new kitchen as well.

I would like to approach her about buying it, with the intent of wholesaling or perhaps flipping it myself if I can find a private money lender (although my wife may get pissed that we're fixing up our neighbor's hours, not our own!)... buuuuttt, if the profit's worth it, and it funds our own renovation - I'm sure she could be persuaded.

I've been trying to get educated on the wholesaling process - thank you @Jamil Damji! But I'm new to this arena and would love some tips about how to knock this out of the park!

Thanks in advance