Question: I really don’t want to do rental property, I’m looking more at Flipping houses and really need some guidance, if you have any advice . . . ?
Response: You need to really become comfortable with analyzing potential deals. In my opinion, one of the best things you can do to get started flipping is to study a certain market near your home to get to know the values of the properties. Then go and see as many as you can to understand what buyer’s expect when they purchase properties in that market. Then you need to see as many “junkers” as you can and get comfortable inspecting the property top to bottom and estimating repairs.
When you know how much the property will be worth when it is fixed up (the market) and what it will take to get it fixed up (the estimate) then you can make offers on the junkers.
The biggest sticking point for new investors is being comfortable with finding these two numbers. Most “newbies” don’t get out there and figure it out, they just spend more money on more education hoping to get confidence that way. Don’t get me wrong, I am a HUGE believer in paying the gurus for education, but you have got to get out there and just start doing it.
Response 2: An ideal place to start looking might be in neighborhoods that are in the 25-35 year old range; basically where houses are outdated but still hopefully in good structural condition.With this kind of unit, you can focus on some of the more basic, value-added repairs such as paint, flooring, landscaping, and other basic finishing touches. This might present a more low risk fixer-upper for your first time. Good Luck!
Source: BiggerPockets.com Real Estate Investing Forums
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Joshua DorkinJoshua has written 539 articles for us.
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BiggerPockets.com was founded by Joshua Reed Dorkin in August 2004. An entrepreneur, web designer, real estate investor, and one-time realtor, Joshua was not satisfied by the online offerings of other real estate sites out there, and decided to build one himself. Mr. Dorkin's vision for BiggerPockets has helped to propel it into becoming one of the top real estate destinations online. His vision for the site and its future has brought national press attention to both Mr. Dorkin and to BiggerPockets.
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http://www.HomePriceMaps.com/brooklyn.php integrates how much homes SOLD for in New York AND Nationwide with the google mapping technology
anyone know of any good websites to get deomographic information? Also, how does a newbie get an idea of how much the repair estimates will be since I have never done any fixing up property myself?
In todays market if you are looking at flipping houses I think the best strategy to flip houses to landlords. Landlords know that now is a great time to buy and most of them are looking to increase their inventory. Therefore you to look for the areas that are strong rental areas and focus on finding deals that would make sense for landlords. Then lock them up with an assignable contract and flip over to landlord for profit. This is far less risky way to get started. Then once you have done some of these and have some reserves then focus on the traditional house flipping method of buying fixing up and selling.
Good luck,
Josh Schoenly
Josh Schoenly´s last blog ..Success Story on Flipping Houses