REI for Beginners: How to Flip a House and Stand-out from your Competition!
October 24, 2014
You want to know how to flip a house? I love to see flippers taking time to actually think through both the process and design of a house! Unfortunately, most flippers just throw some beige paint on the walls then call it a flip. I’m a strong believer and living proof that in order to be a successful flipping business, one must always consider custom ideas and branding. Once you learn how to flip a house, the sky’s the limit!
What I am about to share with you comes from my decade-long experience in high-volume flipping. I’m a full-time real estate investor. I do not do this part-time or as a side-hobby. I’ve given 100% of my energy and efforts to real estate investing for the last 10 years. I have completed well over 300 flips in my career – 100 of those just in the last 18 months. The ARV’s for my investments range from $100k to over $2million. As I type this, I currently have 16 different flips in 3 different states ranging from $150k to $1million.
Why do I tell you this? It’s not to brag. Far from it. I say this only so that readers understand that my advice comes from real world experience, not something I’ve read or heard. Real estate investing is my life, every day, 24-7. Hopefully, you’re able to sift through faulty advice from many who love to merely pontificate as to how good they are or how much they know! I love to share my extensive knowledge to other investors.
Most flippers paint the exterior beige with bright white trim. That’s your most common exterior, unfortunately. Then you step inside and see the real magic. (insert sarcasm!) The investor decided to get “wild” with the interior paint color – they went with beige walls and bright white trim! Groundbreaking, I know! Then to really mix it up and throw you a curveball, they go with a sexy beige tile in the bathrooms and some ritzy beige carpet in the bedrooms! (inset even greater amount of sarcasm!) In reality, they have spent no time, thought, or effort into what their potential CUSTOMER WANTS! They choose that simple, boring design because it’s inexpensive and easy to accomplish. Obviously, this can be quite annoying to more experienced, custom flippers!
In order to be a successful flipper, one must get inside the mind of your potential buyer. Meaning – do you think that your potential buyers watch TLC or HGTV or DIY? Of course they do, and they see what those custom designers put inside of those flips. They decide mentally that this is what THEY want in THEIR next house. (or a concept like it) Instead, flippers provide them BEIGE! Understand that many years ago, this beige concept was good, but over time, styles change, markets change, and the things that influence buyers change. The problem comes when most flippers refuse to evolve with the times.
The trick is finding and giving the buyer what they want and what they envision from what they saw on TV. You cannot, however, go so extremely custom that it ends up eliminating potential buyers. But you also do not want to sink to a standard that says “I am just your average, boring flipper!” Such will crush your potential sales value. I could expound on another 10 reasons why it’s a bad idea – but that’s for another discussion. Again, the trick is to give the buyer what THEY WANT in a comfortable budget without going into extreme customization.
There are a multitude of inexpensive ways to get a “customized look” without breaking the bank. If you are able to accomplish this, you will be a very successful and profitable flipper. But I beg of you this – if you’re going to do this, build your brand as you go. You’ll be astonished as to how many people and agents will begin to want your houses in your area. This will, of course, drive your price up even more. If you need help on inexpensive flipping tips, PLEASE LET ME KNOW – I WILL HELP YOU!
Important side notes:
1. House value and area determines what you do or do not put in a flip.
2. To much customization is a huge NO-NO!
3. Your ARV is only going to go so high, so you cannot just demand any price. But I typically sell my houses for $3k to $6k more than the ARV states. But again, be careful here as you can kill your sales.
4. Please understand, I speak STRICTLY from past and current experience. This is not my opinion – this is how I have flipped well over 300 houses and around 100 in the last 18 months or so.
In closing, you are on the right track! Proceed with caution but figure out who you are and what type of product you want to put on the market. Most importantly, if you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me. I can show you flip after flip after flip if you need help! I am here to help you!
Good Luck.
Andrew
