In addition, rehabs usually go over budget, and it is advisable to have additional cash to cover this shortfall.

Plus the price points are closer to what I'm used to from Wisconsin.Another area I'm considering is Kern County, which isn't super convenient but may provide an easier entry into flipping around here. 

Purchase price: $300,000 Cash invested: $200,000 Sale price: $700,000 We purchased a closed 18-room boutique hotel in foreclosure, renovated the inside, and opened the hotel and later the bar and nearly the restaurant before it was sold in about 2 years.

An SBA loan is going to be a loan that will be a 2nd lien on the property which will make taking cash out in the future impossible.

If I paid off the ARM, I would flip to black cash flow around $450 a month.

Purchase price: $155,000 Cash invested: $215,000 Sale price: $417,500 This single family home project was a personal flip project.

To what extent can the provide value to one's real estate business?

Hopefully your post draws some good points from people who have done it both ways and can provide some numbers for us.

If you do decide to purchase a primary, a multi-unit property could be a solution in terms of receiving cash flow on the other rented out units. 

I currently cash flow $400 dollars a month.