Looking to fund my first deal!

[Jacob Lunger]

So I’m not a complete newbie when it comes to flipping — my brother-in-law’s been doing it for years, and I’ve been involved in several of his projects. I’ve helped manage budgets, materials, timelines — pretty much every part of the process. This will be my first flip under my own name, and I’m excited to make it happen.

I’ve got a great deal lined up in Miami, FL, in a strong neighborhood with solid comps and demand.

Here are the numbers:

Purchase Price: $699k

Rehab Estimate: $150K

ARV: $1.1M–$1.25M (conservative)

Comps:

House 3 blocks away (1,888 sqft) sold for $1.25M

Another ~2 blocks out (1,752 sqft) sold for $1.19M

One about 3 blocks away (1,314 sqft) sold for $1.1M

Mine is 2,032 sqft — larger than all of them.

My question is: Can I realistically get this funded? I’m already speaking with the seller, and the deal is very much in motion. Just wondering if lenders (or even capital partners) would consider working with a first-timer when the numbers are this strong.

Appreciate any honest feedback or direction.

[AJ Exner]

Hey Jacob,

Plenty of lenders would be happy to help you get started! There are  3 factors that they would want to know and get a feel for before they would fund on this one.

Obviously with this being your first deal (on paper, on your own), they would want to get a sense of what kind of risk they are looking into. They would want to know your credit score and your liquidity to get an idea of your borrower profile. Especially in a bigger deal like this, they might want to make sure you have reserves on top of your cash to close in case the deal takes longer than anticipated or goes sideways at all once you start the rehab.

Besides your FICO and reserve requirements, you might also run into concerns with this being in Florida. A lot of lenders are bowing out of FL right now due to insurance costs and risks there, so I would anticipate some hesitancy from a lot of lenders which would likely reduce the initial leverage that they would be willing to give you.

All that being said, should still have plenty of options! What kind of leverage are you looking for on this venture?

Good luck!