Good Afternoon All,
Hopefully you all had a chance to see my Introduction, but for those of you who didn't, my name is Adrienne Curtis. I'm a 21-year-old College Student in Chicago. I'm seeking some guidance because I'm sort of looking to invest in a live in flip. Chicago is a thriving market and I was fortunate enough to fall upon some properties located in the growing Bronzeville and Hyde Park markets. The places I've found are Condos/Townhomes going for between 70k-85k. Seeing that I'm 21 and still in college, would it be best for me to take out an FHA 203k loan or wait until I pay cash for my first property?

If I were to get the loan, I planned on living in it, rehabbing the property then renting it by letting some other tenants live in it, or even selling it. Please let me know if I have the right idea, or if I should try a different path.

If the numbers work, I recommend using leverage. It's all about the numbers. Not necessarily FHA, but maybe not full cash either. Your examples are a 3.5% down and a 100% cash. You options are not completely polarized; you can also look at middle ground. I'd recommend doing some heavy research if you plan to flip the property under FHA.

As long as the numbers are there, do it :)  As someone said (and I wish I remembered who), "It's hard to lose money when you're making a profit."