All Forum Posts by: Randy Achi

@Randy Achi

To start flipping houses, learn fundamentals through books, podcasts, and online courses, build a network, start small, and practice repairs. Develop a team with essential members, focus on moderate property prices and high demand, and start with cosmetic flips. Evaluate and execute flips using software, monitor rehab, and plan exit strategies. Consider partnering with investors or lenders for scaling projects.

Good luck!

Hey @Randy Achi! $150k is more than enough to get you started, but the issue is that right now it sounds as if it's "trapped" in another property as equity. Assuming you have a loan on that property you co-own, you'll need to "extract" that equity somehow and convert it to cash to be able to use it on another property.

1. overestimate ARV

2. underestimate repair costs

3. trusting contractors

4. doing anything DIY or without permits

5. not counting holding costs, especially with hard money

Those are five common ones.

Hey Randy, that's fantastic to hear that you're interested in house flipping and repairs—it’s an exciting and potentially lucrative path in real estate! Since you're just starting, the best approach is to focus on learning and networking while planning your first project.

Watching videos is a great foundation, but hands-on experience is where you’ll really grow. Start by connecting with local investors, contractors, or real estate meetups in your area. Many seasoned investors are willing to share insights, and shadowing someone experienced can fast-track your learning curve.

You'll also want to familiarize yourself with the numbers behind successful flips—acquisition costs, renovation budgets, and after-repair value (ARV). Having a clear understanding of these will help you avoid costly mistakes. If financing is part of your strategy, consider exploring fix-and-flip loans, which are tailored to help investors like you fund both the purchase and the rehab of properties.

Lastly, start small with your first project, ideally in a neighborhood where you understand the market dynamics. This minimizes risk and lets you build confidence as you gain more experience. If you need advice or help with financing as you grow in this venture, feel free to reach out anytime. Good luck! I’m excited for your journey!

This is where a mentor would come into play big for you! Go to meetups locally see what others are doing and meet these people for coffee. You need to tap into someone that is local to you and is already doing this to shadow them till you can start doing this on your own. It might take a couple of years for you to really be in a place to go on your own, but a mentorship, internship, or even just getting hired at a larger flipping company would be a huge value to you just getting into this all! 

Hey there @Randy Achi - Congrats on jumping on to the forums!  It's a great first step to manifest your future reality.  What aspects of real estate do you love?  And why do you want it to become a passion?

Flipping is about as least passive as it comes, so just make sure you wrap your head around how much time and management it will take to be successful flipping.

For anyone getting started, I always suggest these 3 steps:

1.  Educate/Learn (Read & listen)

2.  Network (in-person events and online BP)

3.  Take action (start when you are 80% ready!)

A great Chicago in person holiday event is coming up on 12/12 hope we can see you there!  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/1218823-chic...

Go to local real estate investor meetups, there are a lot of them in Chicago, and start networking. After a few months you will find out who is flipping and rehabbing and you can offer your sweat equity to help them and learn while you are there. Flipping is very hard without capital and experience (i.e. impossible) because you would have to rely on contractors who know you are new and will take you for a money ride while your hard money turns over in its grave. It's great that you know what you are interested, but YouTube can be good and very bad. Meet other young investors in your area asap.

Hey @Randy Achi! Do you have an idea of the type(s) of properties that interest you the most? Single Family? 1-4 Mult-Family? 5+ MF?