Warning: The Most Critical Step You Must Know When Flipping Houses for Profit
Flipping houses for profit is a very lucrative way to make money. The truth of the matter is that real estate transactions occur whether prices are appreciating or whether they're depreciating. You as the house flipper, make money on the transactions on both ends in the rehab in the middle.
However, of all the steps in flipping houses for maximum profit, there is one that is the most important of all.
2 Critical Benchmarks When Flipping Houses for Profit
Both real estate investors and realtors make a regular living by buying and selling real estate. Someone makes money on the sale of the property and someone makes money on the buying of the property. Simply put, house flippers look for a property for sale, buy it, rehab it and then sell it for a reasonable profit. Although flipping houses for profit seems simple enough, its by no means as quick or simple as it many may make it appear.
Of all the steps to house flipping, some would say that buying right is the most crucial step and in order to do this consistently, we use several metrics to do it consistently: Continue reading
3 Weeks into the Rehab of the Wareham Wood Planks House
Hello! Just wanted to say a quick thank you for checking out the House Flipping School blog. I'm having an awesome time developing this blog and it's great to know that many aspiring house flippers are gaining value from this site.
Creating a helpful online resource has always been my #1 goal right from the start, and believe me it feels great to know that at least some of you are gaining knowledge and taking action.
Progress on the Wareham, MA Wood Plank House Flip
Before I start getting all sentimental lets talk a little bit about a property in Wareham, Massachusetts that is currently three weeks into the renovation process. So far work on this house flip has been going extraordinarily well. I'm very happy with the progress the guys have made so far on this property - nice work fellas!
Since purchasing the property we have completely stripped down a couple layers of old shingles off the roof. Whenever I have doubt with a roof, I simply choose to not mess around with it one bit, and instead replace the roof to be on the safe side.
We have a new roof on this house flip property which is not only safe, but also looks very nice.
If you remember in the first post about this house flip (which you can view by clicking here) the previous owner had a "not so attractive" bench protruding from the front of the home. Well we went ahead and removed the bench last week, which will help improve the curb appeal of this property.
Creating a Lifestyle that Works for You
The House Flipping Lifestyle
Everyone desires flexibility in their schedule. If you are reading articles and blogs about house flipping and real estate investing, then there is a good chance you desire flexibility in your life. If you are like me, then the regular 9-5 job just won't cut it.
Like a lot of people I spent the early years of my life grinding it out, doing a lot of hard labor and relying heavily on that next paycheck. As I gained experience I was able to run my own flooring company and begin making more managerial decisions, and Ilearned a lot about running my own business.
How to Flip Houses With No Money Using Your Own Resources
As we have talked about before, there are lots of ways how to flip houses with no money. One way to flip houses with no money is using other people's money or what we refer to as "OPM" for short. What's lesser known is how to flip houses with no money with resources you actually may already have at your disposal already!
With these pathways to flipping houses with no money, even though the resources are your own, there is no outlay of cash on your part, which is the best part.
The key with any new skill you learn related to flipping houses is for to always look at ways in which you can be creative and think abundance instead of lack. Although these ways of flipping houses with no money are by no means all inclusive, they may even spark ideas of your own that allow you to realize your house flipping goals without the use of your own cash.
Below are just a few ways how to flip houses with no money using your own resources, but without any kind of cash outlay on your part.
How to Flip Houses With No Money
When people are first starting to learn how to flip houses with no money, they may not realize there are resources readily available to get them Continue reading
How to Flip Houses with No Money
How to Flip a House with No Money
One question that I get a lot is “how can I get into the house flipping business with no money?”
I really enjoy talking to these kinds of people because they are usually highly motivated and action oriented. They have made the decision to change their lives – they typically want to one day achieve financial freedom. I really respect that and I always do whatever I can in my power to help them get started and being learning how to flip a house.
Unfortunately many of these folks do not come from money and have little dough in the bank. Actually, I would go out on a limb and say that most successful house flippers began their career with little or no money in their wallet. Fortunately it is very possible to begin a house flipping career with no cash at all.
Now, if you have money then starting a career in house flipping will be much easier. There’s no doubt about it, if you have hundreds of thousands of your own dollars to invest you are absolutely a step ahead of the gang.
If you are not one of these people with hundreds of thousands of dollars, then don’t let your financial situation deter you from launching your house flipping career, or any career for that matter. As long as you possess the motivation and passion, then you will find ways of starting without shelling out your own money.
Flipping Houses for Profit | Managing the Rehab
When first flipping houses for profit, you'll find that controlling your rehab costs is just as, if not more important than what you pay for the property you are planning on flipping.
As we have discussed before, there are pros and cons of using a general contractor versus hiring subcontractors. However in to know how to start flipping houses for profit, its essential to control the rehabilitation spend as much as you possibly can whichever way you choose to go. In these examples below, we will assume you are managing the rehab yourself without the assistance of a general contractor.
Here are a few ways to get into flipping houses for profit by controlling your spend on the rehab, while at the same time locking in maximum profitable gains in the process.
Flipping Houses For Profit On a Budget
Using a master budget spreadsheet is a good way to keep track of the repairs needed and all the moving parts with relation to the rehabilitation. You can use the spreadsheet as a snapshot of where you are at any time in the house flip process.
In the beginning of your rehab, you should first get multiple estimates from multiple sub-contractors like electricians, plumbers, painters to get a feel and a quote for how much each part of the rehab will cost. As a rule of thumb, get Continue reading
Flipping Properties Using the Lease Option
Typically we use lease options as an exit strategy when flipping properties. If we are not able to quickly sell a house for the price that we want, then we can always fall back on the lease option.
Maybe we have found a person that wants to own the home. Unfortunately their credit is not at the level necessary to purchase the newly renovated house flip. They may have gone through a recent bankruptcy or gone through some other sort of financial trouble.
A way that we can get this type of person into one of our homes is through the lease option. The person will place a down payment of say $10,000 or $20,000 on the home. This is what is known as their “option.” That money secures their interest in the property.
Now if they never decide to buy the house, then the down payment is mine to keep. This serves as my protection and ensures that they will take care of the house. Obviously it is very important to communicate this to the person when discussing the lease option. You always want to remain 100% transparent and make sure that they understand how the lease option deal works.
How to Find Houses to Flip | Short Sales
How to find a houses to flip?
Big question...many answers. We touch on one of the best ways to find houses to flip today....
We've touched on many aspects of house flipping including the house flipping mindset, how to get started flipping houses, how to use partners in flipping houses , how to flip houses with no money as well as how to find houses to flip with real estate agents...just to name a few.
Now its time to talk about another way how to find houses to flip using a different kind of agent, the kind who deals in "short sales"...namely, the short sale specialist.
How to Find Houses to Flip: Short Sale Specialists
Short sale specialists are typically (but not always) real estate agents who have become experts in negotiating short sales.
What's a "short sale" you say?
The definition of a short sale is:
"a property sold by a seller by a real estate agent for less money than what the seller owes the bank who holds the mortgage"
When a seller does this, it could save the seller from Continue reading
How to Locate Lucrative Opportunities
House Flipping Opportunities
In the house flipping industry there often are opportunities all around us, virtually knocking at our front doors. Problem is that sometimes we are so wrapped up in what we are doing, that we end up not noticing prime opportunities ripe for the picking.
Other times we are presented with an opportunity that just is not right for us at the present moment. It’s easy to write off these opportunities and forget about them, which believe me I am guilty of from time to time.
However I have recently realized just how important keeping an open mind is when it comes to new opportunities. I noticed that if I have an open mind, then I am more likely to spot opportunities and potential projects.
An open mind also helps me to find ways of tackling opportunities that initially did not seem feasible for me. Let me explain.
About a year ago I was presented with a fairly significant project on the island of Nantucket. To make a long story short the project did not end up working out. However I was able to create a solid contact and new relationship with a real estate agent who specialized in island real estate.
This particular agent then shared with me another project that she was working on. It was a 10 acre, beautiful plot of land in a wonderful section of the island. Again the opportunity sounded tempting, but it really was not the right move for me at that moment. Nevertheless I expressed some interest and made sure to show appreciation for the opportunity, her time and her energy.
How to Find Houses to Flip Using Real Estate Agents
OK, so how do you actually find houses to flip?
We’ve touched on many of the critical element to house flipping success in previous posts, but if you don’t ever find a house that can be flipped for a profit, your house flipping career will never take off.
So here are a few way how you can find good houses to flip using one of the best sources for real estate deals: real estate agents.
How to Find Houses to Flip With Real Estate Agents
Real estate agents are one of the best means by which to locate houses to flip, without a doubt. they know your market, have their finger on the pulse of what's going on and are usually very knowledgable.
On the flip side, if you're not careful, you can get into some trouble here as well, so Continue reading