HVAC Contractor · RI · Member since 2013 · 23 posts · 1 vote
When flipping houses how many should you do at once? What I'm trying to determine is, if you've fixed a house and it is ready to be put back on the market how many should you have in the pipe line. I have heard different thoughts, but is it practical to have 1 or more ready to go after you fix 1 and move on to the next, while still looking for the next property to buy.
House Flipper · East Stroudsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 205 votes
12y
I would think you should have your pipe line full., or at least one in the hopper. You can never count on a new acquisition closing on time. Some foreclosures may take 60 to 90 days to close and your prime selling season could be lost, I also believe there is a good time to rent houses if you are a buy and hold type. As they say, timing is everything.
Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
12y
I'd suggest you look at closing times there with the title company, if a cash buy takes 10 days, contract on the next 2 weeks before completion. If you have one to contract.
Do some backward planning.
You should know about how long a rehab will take, contract them to stack up to close on the estimated completion dates, you'll usually run over on a job and that should have the next one sitting waiting on you. Holding costs can be a good motivator.
Experience will tell you how long that piece of string is. In reality you don't find deals at Wal-Mart, the market dictates what and when you find something, just buy as you can and consider the holding costs of the time needed on the current property.
Investor · Kern county Riverside County, CA · Member since 2008 · 494 posts · 261 votes
12y
You can be a calculated, well oiled machine and plan carefully to space your flips out. Then escrow may find a title problem, or a short sale takes a month longer than you planned, or...?
and suddenly you have too many houses to rehab and can't do them all at once, or no houses to rehab at all. It's really hard to perfectly space out. Earlier this year I had eight houses sitting empty because my crews couldn't get to them all. Certainly not ideal, and certainly not a well oiled machine, but we all simply do the best we can with the skills we have. In my opinion, it's better to have a house sitting than not have any houses at all.
Residential Real Estate Agent · Cookeville, TN · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 948 votes
12y
@Christopher L. - I often had 3 going at a time last year at various stages of completion. And I have other business activities going as well. But I've also been doing this for a while and have many, many years of project management experience. Now, I have zero in the pipeline. I've made a few offers lately but not been able to get anything at the price that I want.
For a beginner, maybe do one and then try to have another lined up afterwards. Then you can begin to do 2 or 3 at a time. If at any point it is too much, JV and partner with another rehabber.
Real Estate Investor · Sebastian, FL · Member since 2014 · 812 posts · 432 votes
12y
It does depend on how many you can handle at once. In a lot of different ways. How many can you handle as far as holding costs? How many can you handle as far as available time? How many can you handle as far as stress? How many can you handle as far as added risk of a market shift? How many can you handle as far as spending the profits? Actual mileage may vary due to weather, market conditions, seasonal effects and unknown variables such as interest rate shifts, termites, water leaks, etc, etc, etc.