Even minor updates will surprise you on how quickly $5k will blow through.

@Alex BekezaAlex, it may also surprise you that some mortgage companies are the exact opposite.

I'm kind of surprised I'm healthy! 

Not something I had ever heard of (not surprising) thank you.

I would be surprised to hear that there are any tax advantages but then again, I guess anything is possible in CA. 

Not surprising that she won agent of the year there in 2017.

So, if you're not going to do the work yourself, or if you don't have some magical contractor that can do it cheeper (and better) than anyone else, the only reason not to buy it finished is if the price you get it for, combined with the price you're paying to fix it, combined with a very healthy margin for your risk and the inevitable surprises....

I'm surprised to hear that you want to do land flipping - and by that I'm assuming that you mean buying vacant land at a discounted price and reselling it.That seems like a much more difficult way to go than a standard fix & flip. 

Hi,I'm new to real estate investing with a day job in tech (surprise, surprise living in the Bay Area).

I know several people who are really good with their hands around here and I'm sure there are tons more so it surprises me that this is an issue.