For those who’ve closed multiple flips — what funding advice do you wish someone told you sooner?
Trying to gather helpful insights for new investors entering the space.
Raising capital is not as easy as "gurus" online say it is...just use OPM. Not that easy, you have to often over complicate deals to determine fee, payback period, and what not. I think more people need the reality check that having no experience, AND no liquidity makes starting out extremely difficult. One can compensate heavily for no experience with liquidity.
Starting out, I would recommend getting really good at analyzing. Understand costs, shadow someone else flipping. Give them money (assuming they have a track record and you trust them) and just JV/shadow them to learn with them.
Once confident, then go ahead and do a flip yourself. A lot of people use HELOCs on their primary to fund flips or apply for a fix and flip loan. Both are good options depending on the scenario. I would do 1 at a time until I had a couple base hits under my belt.
Once you get to a point in your organization skills that you can manage multiple projects and deals, I would scale slowly and make a really good lending connection that can fund your growth and adapt as you do. A good lender should be able to help you avoid hurdles and pitfalls or show you a path forward if there is one.
Raising capital is not as easy as "gurus" online say it is...just use OPM. Not that easy, you have to often over complicate deals to determine fee, payback period, and what not. I think more people need the reality check that having no experience, AND no liquidity makes starting out extremely difficult. One can compensate heavily for no experience with liquidity.
Starting out, I would recommend getting really good at analyzing. Understand costs, shadow someone else flipping. Give them money (assuming they have a track record and you trust them) and just JV/shadow them to learn with them.
Once confident, then go ahead and do a flip yourself. A lot of people use HELOCs on their primary to fund flips or apply for a fix and flip loan. Both are good options depending on the scenario. I would do 1 at a time until I had a couple base hits under my belt.
Once you get to a point in your organization skills that you can manage multiple projects and deals, I would scale slowly and make a really good lending connection that can fund your growth and adapt as you do. A good lender should be able to help you avoid hurdles and pitfalls or show you a path forward if there is one.
The best funding advice for new flippers is to get prepared before you bring a deal to a lender. Get prequalified so you know your leverage, cash-to-close, and what you actually qualify for—speed matters in this business. Also understand that first-timers almost always get lower LTV/LTC on the first few flips, so expect to bring more cash in until you build a track record. A clean, realistic scope of work and conservative ARV will go a long way in getting a lender comfortable.
The other big lesson is that certainty beats chasing the lowest rate. Pick a lender who can actually close on time, communicate well, and help you structure deals, not just quote you the cheapest number. A good lender will keep you out of bad deals as much as they’ll fund the good ones, and building that relationship early makes your first few flips a lot smoother.
The best funding advice for new flippers is to get prepared before you bring a deal to a lender. Get prequalified so you know your leverage, cash-to-close, and what you actually qualify for—speed matters in this business. Also understand that first-timers almost always get lower LTV/LTC on the first few flips, so expect to bring more cash in until you build a track record. A clean, realistic scope of work and conservative ARV will go a long way in getting a lender comfortable.
The other big lesson is that certainty beats chasing the lowest rate. Pick a lender who can actually close on time, communicate well, and help you structure deals, not just quote you the cheapest number. A good lender will keep you out of bad deals as much as they’ll fund the good ones, and building that relationship early makes your first few flips a lot smoother.
Haha, I as we like to say, that rate is only as good as their ability to ACTUALLY close on it. I can put anything on paper, but the certainty of closure is worth far more than 1/8th on the rate IMO.