New to investing and advice is needed

[Corey Frazier]

Hello everyone. I’m a newbie to the industry, I must admit. But I’ve been elbows deep in all the BiggerPockets forums, videos and books that I’ve been able to get my hands on. I recently sold my primary residence and I’m now looking to use the equity acquired to begin my real estate investing career.

I'd like to begin with 1-2 fix & flips this first year, but am looking to go the route of obtaining financing through a HML. One finance company told me that no one out there offer HML's. I also spoke to LendingOne who seem to offer a program that falls in line with my strategy. I plan to reach out to several other of the HML companies listed here, but wanted to get some advice.

I’m looking to invest in Florida (ideally South Florida or Jacksonville). This would also be my first investment property, but I could enlist another family member who has other investment properties under their belt in order to satisfy some loan requirements.

Using the 70% rule, I'm looking for a property with an arv of at least $350k-$360k, reno of $25k-$30k, profit of $20k with a 90 turnaround. Am I being overzealous in thinking that a $40k-$50k cash investment is enough (in addition to the HML) to acquire a fix and flip properly? Of course I've only spoken with 2 companies, thus far, but they're definitely giving conflicting information. Any advice that you may have is appreciated as I delve into the new venture.

[Tarik Turner]

When it comes to Fix and flip deals There really is no set % that needs to be set aside by rule. It depends on the specific lender that you are working with and their criteria.

So if you have an ARV of 350k and your total costs including purchase and a 25k Rehab came out to 245k

You would need 24.5k plus closing costs and reserves -(This is where the numbers can Vary) 

I would say always have at least 15% to 20% of your total costs when searching for a Fix and Flip loan product. 

Again, with that being said i have seen as little as 8% do the trick depending on the lender and strength of the deal