Any debt that can help in an emergency is a good idea.

Begin with a small property like a duplex or triplex, build a strong financial foundation, and keep 6-12 months of reserves for emergencies.

If you’re considering leveraging hard money lending (HML) for this flip, it could be a strong alternative to traditional financing—especially since HML is quicker to secure and designed for investors aiming to flip properties fast.With HML, you’re typically looking at covering a significant portion of both purchase price and rehab costs, which keeps more of your cash free for other expenses or emergencies.

Expect delays and unexpected expenses: No matter how straightforward the project seems, having a contingency fund for emergencies is essential.Your Team matters.

Thankfully, my wife is still working, and we have a few months’ worth of emergency funds to cover our expenses.

I allocate 20%-30% of profits for growth while keeping enough for emergency reserves.Plan for Taxes EarlyDon’t forget to set aside funds for taxes.

It will begin as an emergency order and inevitably become permanent. 

We’re not used to seeing emergency declarations as frequently as they do in Florida.Our borrower is a local rehabber with a property scheduled to be funded today and close tomorrow.

They rarely have an over-leveraged emergency or catastrophe.Of course they will not grow as fast as the investor using leverage and NOT over-leveraging. 

It was cheaper to clear the line each year, but eventually I excavated because i got tired of getting emergency calls about toilet backup.