Question about my home buying options......?

i rented a house in Feb 2007 and me and my husband are looking to buy a house but i want it to be a really good investment. my landlord just recently offered me the house i am renting for an ok price. i was thinking about buying it but we have decided to slowly "flip" houses (we want to move into it and upgrade it slowly then sell it) the house i live in now was built in 2002 so it is still pretty new. all it really needs is landscaping, flooring and little things like that. my other options were to go buy another "older" house and fix it up or to go ahead and buy some land start paying on it, build a house and just forget the whole flipping houses thing.( Just so you know me and my husband are fairly young and want to get ahead so we will be comfortable in the long run.) so what do you think would be the best thing, to get ahead in the long run?
1. buy the house i am renting
2. wait until the lease is up and buy a different house
3. buy land and later build

If you like the home you are renting have it appraised to see if the offer is really an "ok price". Get some real estimates for the things you plan on fixing up. You will reap the benefits from kitchen and bath renovations and updating but not landscaping and painting.

"Flipping" has become much more difficult as there is so much inventory that needs to be absorbed by the market before prices can rise. In some markets around the country this will take several years.

Be careful, educate yourself, and seek out professional advice prior to making any final decisions.

Adding landscaping and some flooring will not add any value to the home, it will just make it easier to sell it. Buying a house that has outdated kitchen and baths at a good price is your best bet for flipping. Over the next 2-3 years update the kitchen and baths and you should make a fair profit.

I would recommend buying the house you are in now.

Flipping a house is not that easy of a thing to do. You have to have a VERY good feel for your real estate market, and be able to accurately estimate the repairs you intend to make.

It is very easy to buy a house for $160K, put 50K into updating it, and then sell it for $200K. You also have to factor in about 6% of the selling price in realtor fees, so in this case, it means that you net $188,000 in the sale, leaving you with a loss of $22,000 in the flip.