grcthird said:
I think flipping houses would fun, probably isn't but I'd give it a try if I had the opportunity.
They sure do paint a pretty picture on HGTV, but it ain't all sunshine and rainbows Lol. Although I still watch all those shows.
And you do have the opportunity. It's a common misconception that side hustles like that are unobtainable unless you have piles of money on hand. Obviously you need a decent reserve of cash on hand, but you can probably get started for less than you imagine. There are ways of leveraging costs along the way to where you are not out so much out of pocket up front. Also 2 ways of doing it: fixing it up yourself which would be difficult if you are already a busy man, then you'd end up hating it because it consumed all the rest of your remaining free time....or you could simply hire contractors to do the major work on a case by case basis. Most people I know that flip houses, do it this way. Sure, you can spend a Saturday or Sunday evening at your newly purchased property doing small things here and there, but ideally while you are at work yourself, you have a plumber/electrician/carpenter doing the major upgrades. They are professionals, they can get materials cheaper than you, and also already have all the tools that you'd probably have to buy if you were to do everything yourself. Unless your sole job is flipping properties and you have multiple renovations going at once all the time, you have to plan to buy and sell calculating in expenses of paying people to work for you on said property. But like I said, sometimes buying tools, materials, and your time spent doing it yourself can almost be as expensive as hiring people who do that kind of work every day to work for you.
Example: Last Fall, we had the electricity upgraded in the wife's rental. New 200 amp service built and upgraded to a breaker panel from the old fuse box, also having it moved to another room, as it was located directly above the water heater (party foul in the electrician world). Ended up getting it done, materials/labor and all for $1,800. I had to patch some sheetrock and paint, another $40 or so and done. Other electricians I had talked to before I found this guy gave crazy price quotes, assumably because they didn't want to fool with it. One guy told me I had $2500 worth of work just to build the new service OUTSIDE the house, not counting what it would cost to relocate the panel inside and all that entailed. Another quoted along the same lines of $4,000 for the total job inside and out, and about 3 others either weren't interested on the phone in doing the job, or came and looked at it and said no thanks. The key here is getting hooked up with a trustworthy tradesmen. Turns out the electrician, whom I found through a coworker, used to work where I work, then went out on his own and started an electrician business. He did a fine job and I now have established a relationship with him to continue using him everytime I have a job to do.
You're not getting any younger, the time is now if you want to do something. If it's something you really want to do, I encourage you to learn as much as you can about it and make a move if you feel confident.
