All Forum Posts by: Ashley A Merk

Hello everyone! I am a recent college graduate who just received a Bachelors in business marketing and I also just finished real estate school to get my salesperson license. I’ve been wanting to do fix and flips for the past 3-4 years and I’m extremely passionate about it. I’m not one of those people who watch HGTV and think they can flip a house. I’ve done about as much research as a person could possibly do to prepare themselves to actually do it. I KNOW I’m ready to take the plunge.

The problem is.. financing. I have great payment history on my credit report, but my last two semesters I was taking 6-7 classes and had to stay home to take care of my grandma who recently passed away so I lived on credit cards. It's nothing insane but bc I barely used my credit cards before this, I had low limits so now my utilization is super high and killing my score. When I went to buy my car last October my score was in the mid 600s and I believe it was 680 before I started using the cards. I'm trying to pay them down/off so my score goes back up and I can either 1) take out a personal loan or 2) open a card with a high limit and take out cash advances to use as a down payment on a HML.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Are there HML lenders who would do it for no money down if the deal makes sense? Or even for only a few grand down? I wouldn't even mind something I'd get killed with interest and fees on as long as it wound up making me enough money to put a large down payment on another property after my first with a better lender.

I've also been in talks with my brother's friend who has flipped 3 properties and is a carpenter and real estate agent. He is willing to put out the money for a down payment if I can find a HML lender who will let him put down 10% or less. Anyone work with any lenders who offered 10% or less on the down payment and had a good experience with them? He'd be willing to do this and my part of the down payment would come out of the end profit, and I've offered to pay interest on him laying it out. He said he doesn't have the time to do a flip alone so for him paying the down payment, I would do most of the day-to-day work. Coordinating and scheduling workers, design and shopping around for sale items, phone calls, checking in on the project everyday, setting up our LLC, finding financing, etc. It seems like more than a fair deal, but he said it would depend on getting a down payment at less than 10% or he would have to wait until he has more capital to do a deal.

I feel like all hard money lenders are trying to scam me somehow - especially the ones who are offering low down payments. I’m hoping someone has some recommendations on some lenders??? I’ve been wanting to do this for years and now I’m in debt because of college so I feel really stuck. Someone please help me out!

 Hello Cynthia. Do you have a website/email I can contact you at?

Hello everyone! For the past three years, I’ve been wanting to flip a house. I built up my credit, finished my Bachelor’s degree, researched the house flipping process, learned more about home decor, studied my local real estate market, and most recently, completed my state mandated hours for my real estate license.

My only issue right now is I do not have the financing to fund my first property. I was thinking of taking out a hard money loan, but I am completely unfamiliar with them. Do I need to have income or can I strictly be working on the flip? What’s the credit score requirements? Any money down required and if so, how much? Can I do it as a first time flipper? Will I receive enough for the purchase price and the rehab? Who are some reputable hard money lenders?

 Great advice thank you so much!!! I will have to find one in my area to work with. Appreciate your time!!!

Would you still recommend doing the llc as an s Corp if the expected profit was lower? What if it was more along the lines of $50-75k? Thank you so much for your advice!! I'm pretty sure LLC taxed as an S corp is the way to go from what I've been reading.

Hello everyone! I am getting myself more and more confused with each thing I read regarding which business entity is best for me. So here’s my situation..

I am about to graduate college and will be working in my field full time in order to be approved for a mortgage and financing to pay for renovations for my first flip. I am pretty handy and plan on doing a lot of the easier work myself, and I may try to get my contractor’s license (apparently very easy to get in NJ) to make things a bit easier as far as permits are concerned. Aside from a down payment on a home and money I can afford to take from my weekly pay, I will be probably paying for most things on credit for the first flip. My sister wants to get involved and will be helping by assisting me in whatever reno projects we can do ourselves (probably just painting, tiling, flooring, and basic stuff to save on labor) and by letting me use her good credit for finance options.

I'm hoping within 12-18 months, I will be able to quit my 9-5 and do this full time. I'm trying to be realistic and figure 2-3 flips in that period is attainable. My concern is taxation. Won't I get killed with taxes at the end of the year if I make, say 100k from these properties since they'll be treated as short term? Isn't the tax rate over 30%? Would setting up an LLC be the smartest route tax wise? I would like to be able to pay salaries to both me and my sister so that we have verifiable income once I leave my 9-5 job. I'd also like to avoid paying the government nearly 40% of my take-home, especially because I'll be putting so much time and work into these properties myself. Any suggestions? I've been researching this stuff for nearly 3 years now. I've been learning how to do different reno projects from watching and assisting in work being done in my parents house, watching shows on tv to learn some tips, shopping online for materials and learning the costs to get them done and installed, I have created a few extremely detailed budgets to familiarize myself with costs, I've studied a few areas I'm interested in and have been following their markets for years, and reading articles on different aspects of the business. I love diy and interior design and I would love to own a business, so it makes sense that this would be the career for me. I am just having A LOT of trouble understanding which business entity would work best for me and how to avoid being blindsided when tax time comes around. I guess I should've listened more in my business law and accounting classes! Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!!!