Flipping the Script

For twelve years I have invested in what most people would consider trash, a pity. Investing in neglect was the name of my game and still is. If the object of my intent were perfect, or at least acceptable condition, it would be worth a lot more than what I am paying for it. I know this because I am genuinely interested in the subject and therefore watch, learn and know the market on all sides of condition-to-value. I like to explore the repair/restoration/renovation/resurrection costs in a trial or two while also putting together my best practices guidelines and refining each part until the process becomes an art-form.

When learning the market, I noted what was a best seller and a no seller; what realized the best prices; what were realistic expectations of price; how to market these things; how to photograph them and stage them for best presentation to potential buyers. I stalk that market, setting up auto emails to notify me of any change in the market or a new emergence of great interest. I read reference books from cover to cover and devour every relevant piece of info I can find online.

Because I am passionate about what I flip, I find it easy to get into the mind of the potential buyer. To know what they want to see, know what they want it to be. I know the emotions involved in the transaction. I know how to swing for the fences on the must haves and the perks and at least one standout feature that you never knew you couldn't live without until you saw it. I know how to dress it. I know what to say to sell it. I am an SEO hero with my own game.
In hunting down a deal, I look where others don't. I find situations that are ideal for picking. Some people don't know what they have - they do not realize the potential. Some don't care, they just want to get rid of it. I am happy to oblige. Others think what they have is worth 4 times more than a perfect version of it. I make these people an offer. Some are mightily offended and make it their life's goal to ruin my name for having insulted them so deeply with my low-ball offer. I tell them, it's nothing personal, just business, but because they are not business people, they don't understand and carry on with their goal. Finally, some sellers are realistic and reasonable.

Knowing my flip is essential to making money with it. I need to know it inside and out. Why it was made this way in the first place, how can I repair it authentically but more durably and more aesthetically pleasing than original?

Wasting no time, I go to work immediately tearing down what can't be saved, what has rotted, what has been ruined in some way, or what has been muddled or as I like to call it, "FUBAR'd," by an amateur who has essentially ruined it, except for the fact that I know how to salvage, repair, restore and make utterly marvelous.

Stage with all the perfect, not acceptable, but perfect accessories, trimmings and trappings. It must be desirable to potential buyers in general/your audience, and it must be suitable. Even lighting is exceptionally important and what stands in the brightest light should be carefully weighed.

Light creates a mood, it generates feelings, stirs up nostalgia, creates warmth, can be inviting. On the flip side, it can strike fear into the heart, confuse the senses, conjure foreboding feelings or make everything appear dismal. It can also be too bright, too crisp, too clean - like an operating room. No fun feelings there. So lighting is exceedingly important.

The composition of your photos are paramount for effective advertising. You are able to show the world this thing you have in the way that you see it, the way you envision it. You have to capture all that makes it so enticing in one shot. Sometimes that requires lying down in odd places, crawling under and over things, squeezing into uncomfortable nooks and crannies and even teetering, precariously, from a high perch.

I write the ad copy that tells potential buyers how flipping wonderful this flip is and why they should jump on it. Price it right. Never be unrealistic with your price. That will just get you laughed at and ignored. Then I make a big noise, so to speak, announcing this flipping fabulous thing to the world on social media, sales sites, groups, meetings, print, live events....and everything is not a sales pitch. Sometimes advertising needs to be more subtle through temptation.

I have to say when I look at some other flipping folks, I am kind of astonished at the mincemeat they are happy with making on their flips. To me, their net profit, if any, would make me curl up into the fetal position and cry for my mama because of all the time, effort and actual work they put into that flip vs the inadequate pay they received for it. Which is why it is of utmost importance to know what is and what is not a deal. I have seen people pay at or above retail for "restoration needed" inventory and by the time they pay all their repair and soft costs, they are underwater, breaking even or clearing so little it wasn't worthwhile.

It's important not to go overboard, too. Don't make or install a ton of accessories that are time consuming and therefore, costly, that no one really even cares about, does not add value and will soon get replaced or tossed aside anyway. However, let it be known that certain accessories/renovations/materials WILL make or break your deal.

Factoring in time as an expense. Weighing the damage vs length of time to fix and flip in relation to the final payoff helps me make wise flipping decisions.

I am a creative artist and a creative thinker. Outside the box, creative problem solving has prevented me from losing money on any deal gone south thus far. You see, I was never good enough, in my life, for regular things. I couldn't just go stand in line to receive my monogrammed copy, like everyone else. So when I wanted a house before my first child was born, I knew I could not just walk in the front door of the bank since college had maxed out my credit. I knew I had to have a back door plan.

I was thinking out loud to my dad about it one day and he gave me two sentences of the best advice. How to buy a house with $46.00. And a month later I did exactly that. Being able to improvise when faced with a problem, is key to continued success.

All this, and so much more I could fill 4 or 5 books on it, I learned in those twelve years of flipping that I mentioned at the beginning.