Ask me anything about "Flipping" homes

gordongecko · #1 07-13-2007, 04:23 AM

I figured alot of people here may be interested in real estate investing, and though I am far from an expert or guru I have flipped plenty of single family homes in my day. I also wholesale (flip contracts), and I suggest most people start out with that. So ask me anything, and I will try to answer. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

demon102 · #2 07-13-2007, 04:47 AM

whats a few things that makes this hard to do, and if I wanted to start doing this myself what are some tips u could share with me?

geo8o2 · #3 07-13-2007, 04:51 AM

some friends and i have no jobs. we saved 40k from online poker. so can we do anything real estate with it?

CrushinFelt · #4 07-13-2007, 08:44 AM

What kind of timeframe did you typically work with? Was it a requirement that nothing take more than X number of months or was everything just based off the return you would receive? What was your average and/or median return (% and $ value)? Did you ever lose money on a project? What did most of the "flipping" consist of (ie, what type or improvements did you have to put into the house). When you flipped the house did you then sell it yourself?

mindflayer · #5 07-13-2007, 12:07 PM

A)Did you just flip the homes or did you have a decent interior design team dress up the house to resell it?
B)Is it just a buy hold and flip in a growing market?
C)Is it something inbetween (carpet/drapes and paint?)

I watch many TV shows that do the re-design, but that is because they can't sell the home at all.
(Take this home and sell it eg.)

maxtower · #6 07-13-2007, 04:40 PM

The money is made by buying a place for less than its market value. How do you find houses selling for less than their market value? Why would the current owner give such a good deal?

Tien · #7 07-13-2007, 04:44 PM

I would suggest everyone to start out just flipping contracts like OP suggested.

Lots of beginners (like me in my day) started out buying houses and making all the mistakes I could possibly make (buying too high, spending too much, holding on too long, selling it wrong) which made it a very painful beginning. This is inevitable though and most people will sooner or later be baptized by the fire.

To get a basic understanding of what "flipping is" go buy the book "flipping properties" by Bill Bronchich. It's probably the best book to get you started, but it's like <1% of what you need to know to understand flipping.

My definition of "flipping" Single family homes in a nutshell:

1) Find properties at 70-75% of market value (difficult to do)
2) Put property under contract with seller.
3) Assign / Sell contract to another investor for a few thousand dollars.

Or:

1) Find properties at 70-75% of market value.
2) Buy it yourself creatively. With terms / owner financing / subject to, etc etc.
3) Do patch up work.
4) Sell it yourself.
5) Bank about 20 grand 3 months later.

And yeah, the reason why you have to be extra extra careful in the beginning is because if you [censored] up the first deal like most people do, it will put you out completely.

Flipping contracts is like starting out at the penny tables (which I didn't do enough of).

Flipping houses right off the bat is like starting out at 200 NL ++. You can see why so many people get slaughtered.

Tien · #8 07-13-2007, 04:57 PM

You need to find that motivated seller, someone who is running out of time.

1) Foreclosures : behind in payments
2) Succession : Own a house parents left behind and can't maintain it.
3) Divorce
4) Moving away ASAP
5) House is too expensive and will be broke soon
6) Real Estate Agent not doing a good job.
7) House need a lot of repairs

Lot's of reasons why someone will give away a house for under market value.

Tien · #9 07-13-2007, 05:03 PM

I'd be able to hijack this thread... lol

I'll just shut up and let OP take the rest.

MindGamez · #10 07-13-2007, 05:03 PM

My definition of "flipping" Single family homes in a nutshell:

1) Find properties at 70-75% of market value (difficult to do)
2) Put property under contract with seller.
3) Assign / Sell contract to another investor for a few thousand dollars.

can you expand on that? im just tryin to learn about investments in general, and i dont understand what the contract would entail and why a homeowner would sign a contract that didnt sell their house?