All Forum Posts by: Micah Cook

I second this. I'm an agent and I've had a few cash buyers tell me that that plan to pull their cash out of the house once its closed. In this market, cash has a big advantage (quicker close, no appraisal, no lender hold ups). There's been a few sellers that have accepted cash offers that are 5-10k less then the conventional ones. Hope this helps!

Started making my first offers on properties at 19, but I was 20 when I got my first flip.

I agree with @Darius Kellar. Shadowing an investor would be the best way to start getting involved. They should be able to teach you about how they got started and what it takes.

Good luck!

I think theres two main ways that people get started with flipping homes. One way would be to shadow an investor and learn the process without any financial involvement. You would then take this knowledge and tackle a home on your own. The other way, which is what I did, was invest with a seasoned investor that would serve more as a mentor. We split the costs and profit 50/50 and we discussed each item before making a decision.

As far as finding and partner to invest with, I've heard that people have had luck at local REI meetings or just talking to people that they know who are in RE.

I second @Gareth Fisher. Starting smaller is a great way to get into the "buy low, sell high" mindset. During high school, I would buy broken electronics from eBay, fix them, and then resell them on eBay or locally. I would spend $200 on a laptop that needed a $25 part, then sell it for $450 easily. Flipping houses is much more complex than that, but doing that taught me about analyzing deals, estimating repairs, dealing with people, and a little bit about marketing. I highly recommend flipping items that you are knowledgable about, whether it be clothes, shoes, computers, cars, etc. 

It sounds like your father has some experience flipping homes so he would be a great place to start as far as getting your questions answered. 

I think the three main elements to flipping house are: good deals, funding, and reliable contractors. If you can learn how to find good deals, figure out how to fund those deals, and then have a reliable contractor to rehab those deals, you'll make it as a flipper. I think the most important skill of those three is knowing how to find good deals. The money is made when you purchase a property at a good price. The key to knowing what a good deal looks like is knowing the area. Cheap does not automatically make a house a good deal (so many people do not understand this). 

Hope this helps!

@John Hunt I think that being young is an asset. I bought my first flip a year and a half ago when I was 20, and it was incredible to see the amount of seasoned professionals that were wanting to help. There are so many people out there that are excited at the idea of helping a young person get started in this industry. I often get "I wish I would have started at your age" and it reminds me that I made the right decision by not waiting to get started. 

Hope this helps!

I went through a similar period where I felt like I was wasting my time at college for a degree that I didn't need for getting into REI. I went to a big college for a semester before transferring to a local college so I could live at home and save money. If I were you, I would look at my options as far as online classes that would allow you to have more free time to work. A full 15-credit hour semester took me 30+ hours a week going to lectures, doing homework, and studying. I started doing as many online classes as possible and found that the coursework of a 15-credit hour semester online only took a few hours a week and could all be knocked out in one day. 

I've flipped a few houses while in college and doing online classes has helped so much. I have all week to do real estate stuff and then on Sundays I get all my schoolwork done. 

I would advise against dropping out of college to try and start REI. Getting into investing is very hard and takes a lot of time. It's important to do as much learning as you can. I think you should be able to find a way to schedule classes so that you are still able to work and get your degree.

Feel free to message me if you want to hear more about how I got started.

I went to IU as a freshman! I think that working with a mentor is crucial for people that are just starting out. There are so many aspects of investing that you can only learn from going through the process. Ideally, you should work with a mentor so that you can get firsthand experience on the process of analyzing deals, rehabbing, selling, etc. 

Good luck!

The forums on here are a great resource for beginners! You are able to get tips and read stories from other investors that have had success. Also I highly recommend listening to some of the podcasts as there are a great source of information for beginners.