Contractor/ Carpenter to REI in Charlotte, NC

[Jeff Efird]

I'm a second generation contractor/ carpenter and I'm looking to make my first investment this year. I'm trying to figure out if flipping a house is the best first investment for me with me being a contractor/ carpenter. Im in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and will be investing in and around Charlotte. 

[Matthew Manus]

Hi Jeff, welcome to BP! My first investment was a rehab project, as my background was in general contracting / structural engineering...so it was sort of a natural progression for me. Serving as your own GC is a great asset in itself, not only saving project management costs (compared to hiring it out to another GC), but also getting that rehab management experience that lends itself to building confidence with future investors / partners demonstrating you know the nitty gritty details on the rehab scope of work. If you haven't already I would check out the podcasts featuring rehabbers (the first one I listened to was with J Scott..one of the first several podcasts) although I would recommend listening to all of them to round out your knowledge of the interworking parts and strategies of real estate investing as a whole. I would also try to check out some of the local networking events including Metrolina REIA, Charlotte REIA, J Parker Meetup, Investing in the Trenches with Scott Patterson, or Hobby Millionaire groups...there's probably more but those are the ones I'm most familiar with. You can find most on meetup.com or many have Facebook groups or websites. Good luck with everything!