Moving houses is an incredible way to make big profits in a relatively short period of time. I’m sure you’ve seen the shows “Flip This House”, “Flip That House” or even “Property Ladder”. These show all home fans buying dilapidated houses, fixing them up, then reselling them and making incredible profits. These shows tend to show only the most dramatic parts of the business of moving houses and I can understand that. After all, it is television. Maybe some of the other details, like how to find these deals, how to determine what constitutes a deal, and what costs are that they’re not telling us about, aren’t very exciting, but these are the things you really need to know before jumping into the real estate investment game. In this article, I’ll fill in the gaps and show you the things you need to know if you really want to learn how to flip houses.

How to find cheap houses that are perfect for flipping

There are a wide variety of ways to find houses that would be perfect for flipping. The important thing to understand is that you need to buy a house at a deep discount. Think about who would need to sell your home and would be willing to sell at that discount. The motivation of the seller is what really interests us. Sellers who are motivated to sell are those facing foreclosure, behind on property taxes, going through a divorce, inherited property, people who have a home that needs too many repairs, someone you’re buying another house and can’t afford two. houses, a landlord who is fed up with tenants, and the list goes on and on.

Many of the reasons for the motivation can be found in your local county courthouse. Familiarize yourself with the courthouse and where to find this information. Many counties now have their data online. Search public records and find people with a motivation to sell your property. Send them a letter telling them that you are a local investor and that you are interested in purchasing their property as is.

You can also drive through neighborhoods and search for vacant houses. They are usually easy to spot as the yard is usually overgrown, there may be a broken window, there may be a lot of trash on the front porch, there may be old mail that has piled up, etc. Write down the addresses of these houses and then go online and look on the website of your county tax assessor to see where the tax bill is sent. Send them a letter stating that you would like to buy their vacant home.

What constitutes a great house change offer

Once you have found a motivated seller who wants to sell your property, you must determine if it is a good deal for a change. You will need to know why the house will be sold. Contact a local real estate agent and let them know that you will be buying and selling houses and that you would like to establish a relationship with them. Ask if they would mind running comparables for the property. They will be able to tell you what they think should be sold to fix it.

Most real estate investors want to buy houses at 70% of the resale value, less repair costs. So he takes 70% of the figure that the realtor quoted him and subtracts the costs so that the house is in salable condition. This will be your maximum bid allowed. Offer no more than this. You can determine repair costs by taking several contractors per home and asking them to submit bids to you. Most contractors will do it for free.

70% of the resale value covers the costs you are likely to incur while maintaining and selling the home. These typically include things like interest payments on loans, utilities, insurance payments, real estate commissions when selling, assistance with closing costs when selling, property taxes, and your earnings. That last one is quite important.

I hope you’ve learned something from this quick home flipping overview and are well on your way to getting started flipping houses.