Flipping vs. Buy-And-Hold?

Flipping vs. Buy-And-Hold?

Winter Garden, FL · Member since 2016 · 28 posts · 10 votes
Hey BP, Seeking some experienced advice on strategies when starting... I'm VERY excited about REI but am in the very early stages: getting my personal finances in order and learning as much as I can. Currently renting a townhouse, and not much in the way of assets. My end goal is a portfolio of buy and hold properties so I can live off of the cash flow. If there's one thing that I've learned about B&H, it's a VERY slow game. Which I love, but it's also frustrating because I'm itching to get started investing now. I'm still a year or two away from having enough to buy a house-hack-ish property (looking for a primary residence with a mother-in-law suite to rent). I've been curious about learning to flip to build cash reserves, then use that to buy long-term holdings. But it seems like there's a lot to know and a lot that can go wrong with flipping. Does it seem like a bad idea to learn how to flip just to get started, particularly if that's not what I want to ultimately do?
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  • Rental Property Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2011 · 513 posts · 290 votes
    9y

    I would study both strategies. Get personal finances squared away. Read Dave Ramsey. Then I would house hack with fha loan. Starting with weak finances is not a good idea in my opinion - especially as many people see some type of correction on the horizon. 
         My first house gave me the equity to start in buy and holds. A year or two to learn and build finances is not that long. If we do have a correction you'll be ready to pounce on opportunities.  
         Others may advocate flipping with other people's money but there is a lot of risk.  And you'll likely need some skin in the game.
         What about flipping some craigslist/garage sale items for cash. Use your own money. Low risk. Just some thoughts. 

  • Investor · Sewickley, PA · Member since 2017 · 59 posts · 32 votes
    9y

    I am investing with the buy and hold strategy and it is a very slow method, but it suits me. I am not a flipper and I can't imagine pursuing a strategy that doesn't fit just to get to my ultimate REI approach. A house-hack on the other hand was basically our start, although it wasn't called that at the time. You could approach your duplex house hack with one of the units as a "trial flip"...see if you can meet the time and budget demands of a flip on that unit, but instead of selling, rent it out.

  • Winter Garden, FL · Member since 2016 · 28 posts · 10 votes
    9y
    Will Pritchett good advice - getting my personal finances in order is priority number one so I can be "ready to pounce" Karen S. that makes perfect sense. I'll stick with buy-and-hold! Glad I posted the question - thanks for the responses!
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