Consider a situation where a person buys a house, holds it for one, two or five years and then sells.

We won't move into the house until the renovations are complete.Here are the details:- Home Purchase Price: $220,000- Renovated comps sell for $375,000 - $425,000- Renovation Budget: $60,000 - $80,000- Available Cash: $50,000- Household Gross Income: $145,000 (but daycare eats up $20,000/year)- Existing Debt: $0- Credit Score: 749The renovation will include the following upgrades:- (Contractor) New Electrical (first floor is knob and tube)- (Contractor) New plumbing (functional but has galvanized supply lines and bathroom needs gutted anyway)- (Contractor) New Gas Furnace or Ducted Heat Pump to replace oil furnace. - (DIY) Insulation/air sealing upgrades in attic and crawlspace- (DIY) Kitchen, Bathroom, and Laundry Remodel- (DIY) Refinish existing wood floors on main floor (and carpet upstairs if budget allows)- (DIY) Interior painting (and misc. drywall and plaster repair from other upgrades)The good:- Foundation is in great shape, house is level and square (as much as possible for 110 year old house) - Interior is bone dry with no rot or mold- Roof had a full re-sheath/replacement last year- Exterior siding is meh but in good condition with decent paint- Windows are original wood w/storms but well maintained with historic value.- Eventually we'll add a second bathroom on the second floor directly above the existing bathroom. - Some charming original details (porch, molding, doors, wood floors, fireplace)- I'm an architect by trade and both my father and father-in-law have construction experience and are willing to help with the remodel.What options do I have to finance this and do a significant amount of work myself?

The better half lies in above average performance on a range of metrics inclusive of unemployment rate, future job growth, per capita and household and family median income and more (http://www.bestplaces.net/economy/city/colorado/co...), all of which may translate to a better prospect for building long term with Colorado Springs real estate, as indicated in national appreciation rates, where it appears we are in the top three (http://www.estateofmindsites.com/subscriber_new/map.php?

However, I live in SoCal and with 10MM + households, that's a Los of doors.

Megan Greathouse Max Householder Thank you so much for both of your replies!

I am looking at a 50 unit apartment complex and on I was notified that the units "must remain affordable to households at or below 60% area median gross income (AGMI) until 2032 per OHFA". 

Here is our info:Credit score: 750+Household Income: ~210kDownpayment funds: 30-40k depending on how much we want to stretch our budgetDebt: I have about $25k left in student loans that I have vigorously been paying off $1000/month (started at around $70k) since I graduated 5 years ago.

After you mentioned Edmonton I got really interested, and did some really quick search, and found out average household income is 90k in Edmonton vs 70k in Vancouver, unemployment rate similar while population is half of Vancouver.

How many months before I buy a house should I start buying household items (furniture, kitchenware etc.)?

Usually if you see a number in the 20's I think it's safe to assume it's more of a renters/rental/landlord market.Also, Median home price is $66,300 but if you x4 the median household income which would put Trenton house cost cap to about $147,908, so anything over $147k in Trenton is overpriced for the average family in that area and could get into foreclosure problems if you try to sell someone hard on a house they can't afford above that price.