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Know Your End Buyer
April 6, 2015
Being a real estate investor isn’t just about flipping houses and making money. It is about consistently and efficiently making smart investments that grow your business over the span of a long career. A huge contributing factor to this is knowing your end buyer. Great real estate investors take the time to educate themselves on who they are selling to, their end buyer. Not every market in the country is the same. Different people have different needs. If you take the business plan that you have now and apply it in a different city across the country, you may or may not be setting yourself up for failure. To help you grow and expand your business, consider these two factors. Know who you’re selling to Since I flip in multiple parts of the country I understand the importance of knowing your end buyer. I focus a lot of my flipping efforts in Atlanta and in Chicago and the end buyers are almost complete opposites. In Atlanta the majority of my end buyers are Yuppies (Young Urban Professionals), Guppies (Gay Urban Professionals) and Dinks (Double Income No Kids). These buyers are big on entertaining and hosting which is almost a complete 180 from my buyers in Chicago. The end buyers in Chicago are normally people who are just starting their family or first time home buyers. Rooms and storage are the main concern with these end buyers. So you can see how important it is to understand the end buyers in your area and in areas that you want to expand to. Once you understand the people, you can better understand the second factor. Know what your end buyer wants You understand the people, now it’s time to apply that to your business. If you know your end buyer then you understand what they are looking for in a house. You can flip houses with your end buyer in mind and add features that you know will make it sell fast and at full price. I’ll use Atlanta and Chicago as examples again. As I mentioned earlier, Yuppies, Guppies and Dinks are all big on entertaining. I keep this in mind when I flip houses and add in features that meet their needs. Back patio decks for parties and BBQ are great for entertaining. If I can create space inside of the house by knocking out part of a wall or opening up the kitchen then I do that. In Chicago, with the main focus being new families and first time buyers, I have to change my strategy. These end buyers like having more rooms in the house, whether they are for people or for storage. Big garages are almost always a must, and anytime I can find a house with a den or family room I know it will sell fast. You can see how understanding your buyers in different markets can be challenging, but if executed correctly, it can lead to a lot of flips and a lot of profit. Remember, putting the wrong features into houses will drive buyers away. You may be able to draw them in but you won’t keep them. Know your end buyer, understand their needs and you’ll have no problem flipping houses...
read moreEaster 2015
April 4, 2015
Easter: The word is often attributed to Ishtar, the ancient goddess of fertility. It was thought that she was the power behind the springtime changes in all of nature as earth sheds its winter dormancy and new life breaks forth. Of course, now we know that spring time comes as the earth changes its orbit around the sun and the increased sunlight changes the seasons according to laws of nature designed by God at creation. The meaning of the word changed drastically for the Jewish and Gentile converts to Christianity following the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day following His crucifixion. The resurrection occurred just days after the Jewish holiday of Passover. It became a religious holiday celebrated worldwide. The post-modern era of today’s secularized world has robbed some of the spiritual meaning of the word and morphed it into a secularized, commercial event that signals more the break in academic studies at schools and the soon arrival of summer weather. It is celebrated with colored Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies. Both eggs and rabbits are symbols of fertility and reproduction, much in keeping with some of the more ancient rites of Ishtar worship. Regardless of its historic beginnings, there is no holiday quite as bright, cheerful, hopeful and happy as Easter. For many it is a call back to their Christian foundations and spiritual roots. For others it is the celebration of life and the joy of the return of springtime after a long cold winter. To all, it should be a memorial to the power of Hope, Faith, Vision and Purpose. Easter signals a restart; not simply a beginning, but another chance. Perhaps your recent past has been full of winter’s cold: Death, dormancy, despair, depression, disappointment. Well, let this Easter be the sparkplug to rouse you from your winter’s sleep and awake you to new opportunities. See your future through the springtime lens of new life blossoming from seemingly dead branches and let hope surge again. Allow yourself to dream again and awake from the slumber of self-pity. Easter could be for you a “resurrection” from the grave of a dead marriage, a divorce or a failed business venture. It could be a deciding time to stop looking at the hurts of the past and to start looking at the possibilities of the future. Easter reminds us that life offers 2nd, 3rd, 4th and often many more chances. Life is not a one and done game of chance. Easter brings hope that our greatest days of growth come after our periods of waiting and dormancy. After loss, stress, and the cold of winter, spring blossoms again with even greater growth than we saw before. Easter reminds us that the coldest and most severe of winters must eventually release its grip and give way to the laws of springtime. That is not only true in nature but also for us in our lives. A dear friend of mine was being harshly attacked and criticized by several envious competitors. After a particularly rough day, a friend of his called him and asked, “Are you dead yet?” “Yes,” he responded despondently, “I feel that I’m dead inside.” “Good!” his friend replied, “Cause there can’t be a resurrection...
read moreDIY: How to Flip a House – Houses 15 of 15 (Video)
April 3, 2015
In this video, Andrew shows you how to flip a house by executing the perfect system for demolition, design and display in many different areas of the physical property. Andrew has spent the last decade showing investors of every experience level how to flip houses. Now you too can learn how to flip a house! This week you can expect to learn: How a three toned interior paint job can help your house on the market Want to learn more about how to flip a house? Click here to view last week’s episode! ...
read moreSeason 1, Episode 11: One Marketing Strategy I Would Do Differently [Podcast]
April 1, 2015
Listen to the Audio http://andrewcordle.me/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Podcast-S1E11.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download Click here for audio. Watch the Video Click here to watch the video. This week’s iFlipuFlip podcast is all about marketing! I’ll be discussing: The two forms of marketing I started out with The returns I got from those strategies How a professional marketer can change your game Inbound marketing and, and how effective it can be The trouble with bandit signs Why I absolutely love my blog Starting your social footprint “Marketing is a contest for people’s attention.” –Seth Godin Click To Tweet Binge on All of the Current Episodes! If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all of the currently released episodes of Season 1 Here. I release both audio and video episodes weekly. Share the Love If you enjoyed this week’s Podcast, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the Podcast. Subscribe to my Podcast ...
read moreDIY: How to Flip a House – Houses 14 of 15 (Video)
March 27, 2015
In this video, Andrew shows you how to flip a house by executing the perfect system for demolition, design and display in many different areas of the physical property. Andrew has spent the last decade showing investors of every experience level how to flip houses. Now you too can learn how to flip a house! This week you can expect to learn: What you can do with a basement Click here to watch the video Want to learn more about how to flip a house? Click here to view last week’s episode! ...
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