As I begin to brainstorm about this article I get overwhelmed thinking of all that goes into house flipping. I have read numerous articles, studied many how to guides and interviewed many in our area and across the country. I like one article so I’m going to include it at the bottom of my blog. Please take the time to read it and enjoy.

Now to my meat and potatoes.
1.Buy the property below market value
2. Buy with cash or its equivalent
3. When doing the repair estimator is has to be accurate and done in stages.
4. Quality contractors with good scopes of work and lots of follow up.
5. Location is HUGE
6. On your first one or two you can do some of the work yourself
7. Never add a feature because you wanted it in your home. It must be comparable to your market.
8. Add the sizzle things if it makes sense for the price range and neighborhood.
9. Control your holding cost by selling quickly.
10. Network with others in your area or around the country.

Buy the property below market value is always a good idea, however that’s harder to do than said. My studies show that making multiple offers on homes monthly is the key to buying right.

Buying with CASH, well you know you can’t actually take cash to the closing table so what that really means is you will not be going to a traditional bank for financing therefore your not held up with appraisals etc.

What is a repair estimator ? Its software that is readily available that is used to calculate your cost in your rehab. It is only as good as the info you key in it.

Hire good people is the key in everything we do… even when hiring contractors. The reason people struggle with this one is their not ready to fire the one they have when they mess up.

Targeted home buying keeps you out of trouble and lets you become the expert in a certain neighborhood.

Do the work yourself. NO! That goes back to trading time for money. If you want to be carpenter then go to work for a GC and get out of the real estate re-developing business.

To many people today over build either size or finishes. If the neighbors don’t have a pool or hot tub do you really think you should put one in ?

Add Sizzle things… Now that seems like I just went against the previous. It’s not what that means is spend the money on what makes your house pop.

Selling your quickly … Use a realtor and make them market your property.

Networking… Surround yourself with the ones that know what they are doing , not the ones who want to tell you they do.

House flippers can make money but Real Estate Re-Developers change their lifestyle and that of many others.

TOP 9 THINGS SUCCESSFUL HOUSE FLIPPERS DO.

They buy at the right price. If you buy a house at full retail price then spend $25,000 on improvements, clearly you won’t make a profit. You want a house to which you can add value and sell for more than you spend. Especially in today’s market, you may need to search hard for a house that will make a profitable flip. “You make your money when you buy,” Jensen says.

They have access to cash. A traditional lender will want at least 25 percent down and also have the best rate. A hard-money lender, who gives a short-term mortgage based upon the value of the asset, may not care about your credit and will lend enough to buy and rehab, but he or she will charge 10 to 15 percent interest or more. You may get lucky and find a private lender who trusts you enough to give you a loan for acquisition and repair costs at a reasonable rate, but that often takes a track record unless you have relatives with money.

They make accurate cost estimates. Before you decide whether a house will make a good flip, you need to know how much it will cost to repair it, market it and hold onto it during the process, which means you also need an accurate timetable. When you estimate tile costs, don’t just look at the $2-per-square-foot price tag on the tile, but also include the cost of labor, mortar, grout and tools. Don’t forget taxes, insurance, mortgage payments, real estate commissions and marketing costs. “All of a sudden your $10,000 budget is $25,000 in reality,” Jensen says. “It costs a lot of money to flip a house.”

They hire good contractors. Finding a good, reliable contractor to work with you on flipping a house isn’t any easier than finding a contractor to renovate your kitchen. Start looking before you find the house. Ask for references, call those references and look at completed projects. “This is going to be the hardest part of the whole thing,” Jensen says. “I have found three in my whole flipping career who were amazing. I have hired a lot more contractors.”

They buy in the right neighborhoods. When you don’t have a lot of money, the tendency is to assume that an inexpensive house anywhere is a good option. It isn’t. You want a neighborhood that is safe, where values are rising and where people want to live. “Not every house makes a good flip,” Jensen says. “Just because the house is priced low doesn’t mean it’s a good value. You’re not going to be able to force those neighborhoods to be good.”

They do work themselves – when they can do it well. One way to avoid dealing with contractors is to do the repair work yourself. That can be a decent option if you’re good at home repairs. Calculate how quickly you can do the work yourself vs. how much you would have to pay someone else. Your time has value, too. But bad renovations turn off prospective buyers.

[Read: 3 Things to Know About Flipping a House in Las Vegas.]

They don’t overimprove. If you buy a house in a neighborhood where all the other homes have laminate countertops and linoleum floors, you may not get your money back if you add custom wood cabinets, expensive wood floors and marble countertops. “You don’t want to be the nicest house in the neighborhood,” Jensen says. “You’re not going to sell a $300,000 house in a $175,000 neighborhood.”

They add special touches that don’t cost much. Spend a little more on kitchen faucets, a new doorbell, lighting or plumbing fixtures, Peavey said. Wainscoting, chair rail and crown molding all look nice but don’t cost much. “You sell the sizzle of the steak rather than the nutrients of the steak,” he says.

They sell their homes quickly. Every day the house sits unsold, you lose money. You need a strong marketing plan, whether you use a real estate agent or list it yourself. And you’ve got to price the property to sell based on market values, not what you’ve invested in it for improvements. “If you list too high, the house won’t sell,” Udelson says. “If you list too low, you leave money on the table.

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