whats the best way to get started in flipping houses for profit?
I watch flip that house and the real estate pros all the time, I think flipping houses would be fun and I know the income great but how would I get stsrted? Anyone know?
10 Responses
jl
22 Jul 2011
Erin
22 Jul 2011
Buy a house…a very cheap house. Easy to do right now…Fix…and sell
TedEx
22 Jul 2011
And it is a good way to get burned. Bad.
e_businessolutio
22 Jul 2011
Hi Mommy2be,
I am a Professional Real Estate Investor and I have to tell you that it is not as easy as they show on TV. There are a lot of things to learn so you don’t get hurt doing business out there and even the pro’s make mistakes sometimes just more educated ones.
A small mistake can cost you 10′s of thousands of dollars if you do not now what you’re doing. If I were to start telling you how and where to start without giving you the know how, I would be doing you an injustice to you and possibly setting you up for a costly mistake but I would be willing to share more of my knowledge and sharing with you on how to do flips in your area and even coach you.
But you would have to email me and contact me and we can discuss if you would be interested in further information. You can go to my profile and email me if interested.
Good Luck,
Enlightened Business Solutions
Brad F
22 Jul 2011
No matter what people say, you need money up front. Find a house with some equity in it to live in (preferably a double). Make it habitable (if it already isnt) and use your leftover equity to help purchase and flip one house. Once you are sucessful with one house, it will give you the capital necessary to do more. Good luck!
Jackie M
22 Jul 2011
I work full time in real estate, and I can tell you first hand that no matter the market, flipping is very difficult.
Who pays the mortgage while you fix the house up? You do.
Who supervises the laborers and contractors to make sure they do the job right?
Who markets the house once it’s ready, negotiates, and manages the transaction?
Real estate is profitable in the long run, it’s not designed to be a "get rich quick" investment.
I’ve known plenty of people who got burned after their first flip, and they all had been in real estate for years.
Don’t you think more realtors would do this if it was truly profitable? Realtors have all the right skills and contacts to do it, but most don’t.
I apologize for my to the point response, but I’ve just seen too many get burned, and I wanted to give you an honest answer.
Good luck!
Lexie
22 Jul 2011
As a Realtor that has bought and sold many homes and worked with a number of investors…. be careful jumping into this profession. It can not be a hobby. This needs to be a full time job with a lot of cash in the bank to back you up.
I have seen some people make $100,000 on a house and turn around and loose $45000 on the next and be glad they didn’t loose more.
Many are just getting out of the business now…. two I know just took jobs as greens keepers at local golf courses. They just couldn’t make a profit.
It is very difficult to even find a house with enough margin to make a profit. If you watch many of the tv shows, they will go back to the people at the end… and most say "We couldn’t sell the house, we moved in… or we rented"… "or my brother in law the dentist had to bail me out!"
Remember: Most foreclosures are not a "good deal" and are not priced below market. They are driving the market.
You make your money when you buy… not when you sell.
Anything you think you can fix yourself… you will probably be better off hiring a professional and then they are making the profit on that job, not you. Know your skills.
I hate to bust your bubble…. but this is not the time to jump into house flipping. Most top investors are doing land banking now.
rreproperties
22 Jul 2011
Hello People??? Dishing real estate and creating fear of investing is unwaranted! Caution and education is appropriate though!
"Things are neither good or bad … only different."
Thus those that turn and run away create more opportunity for the rest of us. "Fliiping" is tougher … but it requires you buy even more "right" now as compared to 2 years ago. So to answer your question from our perspective …
1. Investing does not necessarily mean flipping. There are many strategies that can make you significant profits.
2. Hook up with a wholesaler of sweet cheap deals so you have profits built in – did I mention we are Chattanooga’s wholesalers at http://www.chattadeals.com??? 
3. Consider other strategies besides just flipping right now such as buy, fix up & hold.
4. Consider "Owner Financed" deals where you do not tie up your credit and can use your funds for repairs. Just so happens we supply great ownerfinanced deals at http://www.ownerfinanceshome.com !!!
5. Training is key! Chattarei has a series "Real Estate 101" coming up every thursday for 8 weeks that would be a great start. We at RRE Properties do our own FREE Investor training on market cycles, investing, strategies … all apects of investing on Wednesdat nights 2/month. Next one is this Weds 1-23-08 @ 7PM at the TN Safety & Health Council on HEritage Business Court off Lee Hwy. Email me for directions and to confirm your attendance.
So be cautious, educate yourself and hook up with a seasoned investor or investment group to walk you through the learning process.
Shawn@ibuychattanooga.com
Robert H
22 Jul 2011
If you have a local REA (Real estate Investor association) it would be a good idea to join. The cost to join is usually very low and you can attend meetings and their training programs and talk to investors that are new and people that have been investors for 20 or 30 years. Usually you will get good advice and will get an idea as to what works and what does not work.
Caution, there are lots of so called Guru’s out there that charge thousands of dollars for their course’s and mentoring programs. Most of these programs have good ideas but are designed to sell you their next seminar or program that is guaranteed to make you rich.
There are a lot of good books at the local book store that can get you started. If you will approach Real Estate like you would a college education you will do OK. First dedicate yourself to learning the business, Make some contacts that are in the business who are willing to help you and do not just want to sell you property or their real estate course, and then go for it.
In today’s market buying, rehabbing and selling is more and more difficult. There are a lot of properties that are selling for below market prices so you must be able to buy very low, probably do a lot of the work yourself, and then be able to sell quickly at a profit. Good Luck.
Vinny
11 Nov 2011
Heckuva good job. I sure arppiecate it.
lets see its 2008, you have obviously not picked up a newspaper in 2 years. If you had, you would of realized that RE investments have destroyed more people in the last 2 years than anything else in the last 20. The fact that you haven’t realized that this late in the RE collapse means you are not even paying attention to that marketplace, where you want to make your money. This is a guarented disaster for you.