First Timer’s Tips On Flipping Real Estate And Property For Profit
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
Flipping real estate is one of the last steady investments left in this recession. You simply can’t trust stocks, small business or 401k’s anymore, but buying and selling homes, well, even when you have to sit through an extended slow season, that property is still, and always will be, worth SOMETHING, even if you have to wait it out for a bit. So here are some of the basics for new investors.
Buy it Low
This one should be obvious, but so many people neglect it. If you’re buying a million dollar property in a gated community, you’re probably not going to make much of a profit. You might be able to fix it up a bit and turn, say, five percent on the purchase price, but you better keep the repair costs down. Basically, the lower you start, the less you spend up front, the bigger your profit will be. It’s easy to turn a dirt cheap house into a modestly priced home worth two, three times what you spent on it, but doing this with a home that’s already on the top of the market? Forget it. Buy cheap.
Sell it High
Another step that should be obvious, but which many people completely ignore! You can’t buy a crummy house and sell a crummy house and expect to make money. Look, if all you want is a fast buck, try the lottery. Flipping homes is all about taking something of very little value and turning it into something of very high value. You know what they say, location is everything, right? Well think of it this way: Location is IMPROVED by the value of the homes within that location. If you buy a crummy house in a mid-level neighborhood and turn it into a real winner, you’re improving the local area value and thus your final sale price.
Control Your Repair Budget
The best way to go broke is to buy a beat up old house, and then spend half a million bringing in professional crews to rebuild the thing from the ground up. You’ll be lucky to break even. If this is your first property investment, try this: Buy the home and live in it for a year while you and your buddies fix it up. Your friends can work for “friend rates” or for a small but fair percentage of the profit. Control your budget and don’t go over, and you can turn a very small investment into a very large profit.
If you’re interested in more real estate flipping tips from Jasper Brinks you can check out hisWashington Terrace Real Estate where you can find great deals on Washington Terrace Utah Short Sales.