First Time Flip: Long Distance, but with a Partner

[Ali Al-Mashat]

Hello all, 

So here's what I know: Most people lose money on their first flip. Flipping out of state is generally not a good idea. Partnering up with an experienced investor is a good idea on a first flip.  

Now, this is my current situation. I am 24 years old, and have little to no bills. I live and work in Los Angeles,CA.  I work full time at a decent paying job and I want to get into RE investing. A neighbor recently became my go to for RE investing information and he is looking to get me on board with him as I am consistently meeting with him to just learn as much as I can.  He has purchased a few properties through "receivership" programs in Baltimore, MD. These properties basically need a Full demo and were purchased for basically pennies on the dollar.  The repair costs are substantial but doing a few properties at a time is making the price alot more doable. Thing is these properties are in "transitional areas" at least that's what I am told. Ive seen some Comps and it looks like these properties could be promising but from my research it looks like Baltimore is a block by block hit or miss. 

This "mentor" ( we can call this individual this for now) is encouraging me to take out a small loan from the bank about $10,000-$12,000 to invest it with him. This money will mostly go towards repair costs. I am still debating about biting the bullet and going for it but I am still not 100% sure on the deal. What other information should I be looking for before getting started? Does this approach raise any red flags for anyone? 

Any advice would be great. Thanks!