Rehabbing, flipping as a business in VA...
Ashburn, VA · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 1 vote
Hey guys!
I know many of you are busy, but...
What do you guys think is THE biggest, or the NUMBER#1 advice you can give on flipping houses as a business in the NOVA or Charlottesville, VA area? What do you think would be THE most beneficial advice someone can give you in flipping, or investing in these areas?
Best,
Cesar
Hi, @Cesar Rebolledo, and welcome to BP! Thank you for your service...
The best advice I can give anyone starting out is to educate yourself. BP is a TERRIFIC resource, and there are a lot of very helpful people here. Your question is a loaded one, though, at least the way I read it. Educate yourself on the market or markets you want to invest in. Why did you choose flipping as your strategy? What is your competition, and what obstacles will you face? Where are the desirable areas (low crime, good schools, etc) for fastest sales? What are houses selling for, and what are the average days in market? Are there market indicators that you should be concerned with (job numbers, unemployment, people moving I. Or out for work, etc). Once you understand the market and why it will be profitable to invest there, who can you partner with when its time to take action? Who do you need to meet and add to your team to be successful? What resources are available to you already, and what systems do you need? What do you do really well, and what will you want do outsource? There are other questions, but ALL of these are examples of the kinds of questions you need answers to before you settle on the area.
I don't invest in either of the areas you mentioned, but I'm tagging @Jessica Swingle who is a great contact in NOVA. I also know Mike O'Connell who invests in Richmond and Fredericksburg, and is a BP member (I can't tag him here, though). He's been at it a while and may know Charlottesville or someone that invests there, but don't hold me to that. You can look him up...
Anyway, my advice is to spend a lot of time here on BP in the Education tab. Read all of the Ultimate Guides that are relevant to what you want to do. Pour into the podcasts and blogs for flipping, and use the search field up top to search a specific question you may have. Again, this is a great website, and if the question hasn't been asked on this site, yet, you can start a forum post and get the help you need.
Probably not what you were looking for, but I hope it helps at least some! All the best to you! I'd be happy to meet you if you are ever in the Fredericksburg area...
Cheers!
Hi, @Cesar Rebolledo, and welcome to BP! Thank you for your service...
The best advice I can give anyone starting out is to educate yourself. BP is a TERRIFIC resource, and there are a lot of very helpful people here. Your question is a loaded one, though, at least the way I read it. Educate yourself on the market or markets you want to invest in. Why did you choose flipping as your strategy? What is your competition, and what obstacles will you face? Where are the desirable areas (low crime, good schools, etc) for fastest sales? What are houses selling for, and what are the average days in market? Are there market indicators that you should be concerned with (job numbers, unemployment, people moving I. Or out for work, etc). Once you understand the market and why it will be profitable to invest there, who can you partner with when its time to take action? Who do you need to meet and add to your team to be successful? What resources are available to you already, and what systems do you need? What do you do really well, and what will you want do outsource? There are other questions, but ALL of these are examples of the kinds of questions you need answers to before you settle on the area.
I don't invest in either of the areas you mentioned, but I'm tagging @Jessica Swingle who is a great contact in NOVA. I also know Mike O'Connell who invests in Richmond and Fredericksburg, and is a BP member (I can't tag him here, though). He's been at it a while and may know Charlottesville or someone that invests there, but don't hold me to that. You can look him up...
Anyway, my advice is to spend a lot of time here on BP in the Education tab. Read all of the Ultimate Guides that are relevant to what you want to do. Pour into the podcasts and blogs for flipping, and use the search field up top to search a specific question you may have. Again, this is a great website, and if the question hasn't been asked on this site, yet, you can start a forum post and get the help you need.
Probably not what you were looking for, but I hope it helps at least some! All the best to you! I'd be happy to meet you if you are ever in the Fredericksburg area...
Cheers!
The answer would depend on who was asking.
If it were an experienced investor, they would already know the economic drivers of the town (it's future not it's past), they would know their budget and the type of property they were looking for (4bdrm/3bath, duplex, etc), they would know the type of rehab they were comfortable with (lipstick or to the studs), they would know how much they needed to make, and how long it was going to take them to do it. They might like some advice on specific areas of town if they hadn't been YET, or names of contractors, etc that others might recommend.
I've only been participating in the Bigger Pockets forums for a very short while but I joined a year before I bought my first property two years ago and I'd belonged to a REI club at least a year before that. Despite having heard and read a multitude of success stories over those years, that investment became quite the horror show. Those who have crashed and burned often quit before they tell their stories. I have no idea why I'm still here. So I'd have to say that if I were going to give advice to someone just starting out I guess it would be to write down 100 things that can go wrong with an investment and then how you'd prevent or deal with it. If you don't KNOW a 100 things that can go wrong, then you don't know enough yet and you've got to learn more because, believe me, there are 1000. There are Bigger Pockets books and there's a bunch of articles suggesting more. Don't look for shortcuts. One piece of advice will only work if you already know the question, so once you have one, we're all here for you and wishing you all the best.
@Cesar Rebolledo That question could be answered in hundreds of different ways. Why don't you tell us what you're concerned about and that will guide the discussion a little better. Otherwise the best you're going to get are things like "Make sure you have systems in place" or "Make sure you have multiple exit strategies" or "Location, Location, Location!"
Those are all good pieces of advice. But none of that advice may be what you need.
@Cesar Rebolledo One specific piece of advice that I can give is that the numbers work better and better the further you get from the Beltway.