I made $39,500 flipping a house at 16 while my friends were working at ice cream parlors and golf shops

Courtesy of Phoebe Grier

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Phoebe Grier, 18, who flipped a home in the Twin Oaks neighborhood of Lexington, Kentucky when she was 16. She used her father's credit to secure a hard-money loan through Backflip, a platform that helps residential real-estate investors find, analyze, and finance projects. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.