All Forum Posts by: Shawn Dennard

You can start flipping houses on a small scale (3-6 houses a year) while working working a W2 job. This will allow you to learn the process and figure out your market while not being desperate to sell to cover your bills.  Finding deals and dealing with contractors will take time to get right.  Most beginner investors lose money or make very little on first deal. You want to give your business time to grow before you start living off of it.

Contact multiple lenders to find a good fit as their requirements,  rates, fees will vary a lot. If one don't like your situation or deal don't assume others will say no as there are thousands of lenders out there.  On your first deal you won't get the best terms but you have to start somewhere and build a good track record and relationships.  Beware of "lenders" asking for application fees up front as most of those are not legit. 

Looks like it came out very nice and was still very profitable.  Congrats!

From what I've found in Detroit 2 unit properties in Detroit will provide decent cash flow but will not appraise for as much as nice SFR in the more desirable areas of the city. I agree with the other post that due to age of properties the budget will be much more than $10k for a flip. More like $25k-$40k in areas with ARV around $110k-$140k and these are B-C areas.

Hello, I've been in mortgage finance for many years. There are many ways to get your primary with little money down. FHA is only 3.5% plus closing costs you don't get the seller to pay. There are many programs in your state that will give you the down payment as well, like FL Housing. There are state, city, and county programs available. If you are full time you don't really need much time on job as long as you have a stable 2 year history. Any fluctuating income typically requires 2 years though it can be done with less. Just make sure your stable and ready. 580 score and higher will work but you want to get it up to at least 620 which shouldn't be hard. Hope this helps

That sounds like a very large project for your first deal.  A fix and flip could be a good way to get your cash up.  You also may want to be sure of marketability of 2 bedroom houses in your area.  Most areas it seems to be a hard sale.