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...
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As I travel across the country educating investors on flipping houses and how to make money in real estate. I am often asked “What is the one thing that separates the successful investor from the struggling investor?”. There are several things that I believe separates successful investors and struggling investors. The first thing that comes to mind when flipping houses is strategy versus tactics. I tell my students that one must understand their strategy before they initiate their tactics. In today’s modern digital age, many young or inexperienced entrepreneurs see a cable show, read a blog article, or even attend one of those real estate “guru” events and get the “itch” to give real estate investing a try. At the “guru” seminar, they’ll hear some slick shark salesman give them a preview of some new, hidden, secret tactic in real estate that will make them a million dollars overnight. It could be buy/fix/sell, lease options, notes, short sales, or multi-family…but they get excited and want to stop everything, run out and try this new real estate investing “tactic.” Just like life for the rest of us, this excited new investor eventually falls on hard times. They come across problems, something goes wrong and then they’re out of the real estate game just as quickly as they jumped in! Then they go back to whatever it was they were doing previously. This struggling entrepreneur and the person that jumps in and out of real estate does so because they lack the understanding of what they are actually trying to accomplish in real estate! They do not understand the strategy! One must be able to say, “Financially, this is where I’m at; over there – wherever that is for you – that’s where I want to end up. That’s my end-goal. I’m going to use real estate as the vehicle to get me where I want to go. Real estate will not be my life. It will not be who I am.” To personalize this, let me say it this way: real estate does not define me. But I’ve used real estate as a vehicle to take me from my parents basement during the market crash to being a successful investor and finally, financially free today. My very first goal in real estate was to make enough money/cash flow from rental properties to pay all of my normal monthly bills. At that time, I needed about $4,500 every month. Once I reached that $4,500 mark, I had arrived at my destination, my goal line. However, accomplishing my goal was much easier than I had thought it would be. So now, I wanted $10,000 per month. Once I reached that destination it was, “How about $15,000 per month?” Strategy will change and grow as we reach our destinations. There are two main points one must understand to...
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You want some tips for flipping houses, eh? How often have you heard the controlled media talking heads tell you that the real estate market is dead, the bubble has burst, or the recession lingers in real estate? I’ve heard it countless times just in the last year or so. Well, I’m here to tell you, flipping is here to stay! It never left. Flipped/rehabbed homes accounted for 4.6% of all U.S. single-family home sales in 2013, which is up from 4.2 percent in 2012 and 2.6 percent in 2011, according to data from RealtyTrac. Foreclosures have likely driven that trend. But increasingly, non-distressed properties are also overdue for house flipping. With that in mind, I’ll share with you some of my tips for flipping houses! Tips for flipping houses: Tip #1 – Not all markets are the same…or even similar sometimes. What works in Seattle, Washington will not work in Toledo, Ohio. Obviously, one can flip pretty much anywhere, but it’s crazy to think that the same thing will work in another market elsewhere. Know your market and watch it patiently for the right deal. Tips for flipping houses: Tip #2 – Don’t be scared to make a full price offer in certain situations. Use the inspection period as a chance to inspect the property for potential problems that could lead to a significant reduction in price. Essentially, you’re making an offer right out of the gate and then negotiating second. Of course, there’s a chance that you may not get the seller to reduce the price but if the numbers of your offer are strong, most sellers are hesitant to walk away from a solid offer. Tips for flipping houses: Tip #3 – Network! Networking is the lifeblood of business. As they say, “it’s all about who you know!” If you don’t work your contacts and search out hidden opportunities, you won’t be a successful flipper in a competitive market. Tips for flipping houses: Tip #4 – Make money when you buy a flip. It used to be easy to make money when you purchased a home because prices were rising so quickly. But these days, it can be challenging. A market with more realistic prices means that flippers need to look harder for the right houses and be disciplined not to overpay. Tips for flipping houses: Tip #5 – Watch the market data – both local and nationwide. National employment numbers, consumer moods, and GDP provide some sense of direction. But real estate is also local, so track inventory levels, pricing trends, and local unemployment. For more information and free real estate investing education, visit www.andrewcordle.com ...
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Ever heard the popular phrase, “if you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail”? Do you have a real estate flipping business plan? From my 10 years plus in the real estate investing industry, my guess would be that roughly half of all flippers do not have a real estate flipping business plan. And planning is paramount to reaching your real estate goals. Too many inexperienced flippers get into the business without a solid real estate flipping business plan. The Cable television flipping shows should bare some responsibility for fooling viewers that flipping is easy. Dont we all wish it was as easy as we see on television? I know that I do! I’d imagine that the cutting room floor is filled with the more monotonous, non-dramatic parts of the process like planning and budgeting! Because of the large amounts of money and capital involved in real estate, it’s that much more important that one has a real estate flipping business plan. A good plan also helps you convince others that you’re dead serious. So you might be wondering, what are the elements of a good real estate flipping business plan? Here are a few important must-haves: An Executive Summary – your one page business plan A Market Analysis – summary of your targeted locales and neighborhoods Your Flipper Bio – this informs your lenders, investors, and vendors about your business and yourself Organization and management – self-explanatory: Show that you’re organized Marketing and Sales Management – address your goals of buying low, selling high and your marketing plan Funding Plan – this is the numbers game/report for your potential lenders Financial Projections – analysis of future cash-flow For more free information to help you develop your real estate flipping business plan, visit www.andrewcordle.com ...
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