New to real estate in Austin, TX

[Matthew Malen]

Hi BiggerPockets,

I am in the Austin area and interested in getting into the flipping scene here. I have been a fan of the BiggerPockets podcast for a while now and look forward to exploring all the resources here on the website. I am mainly interested in single family and duplex properties and would appreciate any advice on the subject.

[Bryan Noth]

Welcome to BiggerPockets @Matthew Malen!  I strongly second the words of @Aaron Gordy, those short term gains can eat into profits quickly on flips.  Also worth considering that flipping can have a potential huge upside on profit but also carries the biggest potential for loss via unexpected costs or delays.  If you have a particular set of skills that would give you an advantage with flipping it may be a worthwhile endeavor.  

There is significantly greater inventory for SFH, a duplex will be tough to realize the same opportunity unless it is vacant. Not impossible, just narrows your margin significantly and complicates the process. As a buy and hold with forced appreciation though, that play is solid for the Austin MSA.