Bria, a lot of first flips come from an agent who watches the market daily. Listings that sit a while or need work are easy to spot from the agent side, and you can ask them to send you anything that fits your budget. Wholesalers and auctions work too, but only once you know your numbers.
Before any offer, start from what the finished house should sell for based on recent sold comps, then subtract the rehab, holding costs and selling costs. If there's still a profit left, it's a deal. If not, move on to the next one.
For the contractor, walk the house with two or three of them and ask for line item bids on the same scope. Then call people whose jobs they finished recently and ask if it came in on time and on budget.
Thank you for breaking this down! This helps me understand where to start. I’m going to look for an investor-friendly agent here in Greensboro and get comfortable with the numbers before making an offer. I appreciate you sharing your experience!
Bria, deal flow is still the bottleneck in my business at 236 properties, so here is the buyer-side version. Most of my houses come from wholesalers, and the ones who keep my business do three things: they bring real numbers — address, beds and baths, square footage, rent, and photos — they price off the finished value, and they never shop a contract they cannot close. My box is simple: Memphis single-family under $100K, 3BR or better, finished ARV $180K to $265K, and rent that clears the 1% rule. Whatever channel you use, know a real buyer's box cold and bring deals that fit it. That is what gets you called first.
Bria, on the contractor side, the vetting that saves you most happens before anyone picks up a hammer:
- Write your own simple scope first, room by room, even if it's rough. If you let each contractor tell you what the job is, you'll get three bids for three different jobs.
- Walk the house with each contractor and watch what they look at. A good one opens the electrical panel, looks under sinks, checks the basement or crawl space, and asks about the roof. Someone who just glances around and gives a number is guessing.
- Ask what's excluded. The cheapest bid is often cheap because it leaves out permits, dumpsters, or anything found once walls are open.
- Start with a smaller first job or a short punch list if you can. How they show up on a small job is how they'll show up on a big one.
- Pay in draws for finished work you've seen, with photos, and keep a small amount held back until the punch list is done.
Bria, I'll add the buyer's-agent angle since that's my seat. The finding part gets all the attention, but the agent's real value on a first flip is the underwriting before you offer. A good investor-friendly agent will pull sold comps, pressure-test the ARV, flag the repair items that scare lenders, and tell you when the numbers don't work — even if it kills the deal and their commission. That 'walk away' advice is worth more than the introduction. And since you're asking about vetting contractors too: the financial vetting matters most. Never pay large sums upfront, always pay in draws for completed work you've seen, and hold back a percentage until the punch list is done. The contractors who balk at those terms are telling you everything.
Bria, I've done a bunch of flips, and the deals have come from a few different places. I've made offers on MLS properties, gotten some deals from wholesalers, and had a few sellers reach out to me directly.
For a first deal, I'd start with an experienced agent, and it sounds like that's your plan. I'd look specifically for an agent who has done flips themselves, or who regularly works with investors who flip. They'll know what a finished house sells for in a given neighborhood. They'll also know what buyers expect from a rehab and which properties are worth an offer. That's hard to learn on your own when you haven't done one yet.
The MLS also gets overlooked by new investors, who often assume every good deal is off-market. Some of my deals came from properties that had been sitting a while or that most buyers didn't want to take on. A good agent can help you spot those and make an offer that makes sense.
Wholesalers and direct sellers come with time. Once you've done a deal or two and people know you actually close, more of those opportunities tend to find you.
Bria, every source on your list works — agent, wholesaler, auction, MLS. What actually decides whether your first flip happens isn't the source, it's whether you can move when one shows up: know your numbers cold (what you'll pay at what rehab for what ARV) and have your financing lined up before you start looking. Beginners lose good deals because they're still figuring out the math while someone else is signing.
Stale listings are worth your attention. A house that's sat for 60-plus days with work needed is where an experienced, investor-friendly agent earns their keep — the seller is finally ready to hear a real number.
On contractors: get at least three bids, but make them bid the exact same written scope, line by line, or the numbers aren't comparable and the lowest one is just the one who missed the most. Check license, insurance, and references — and actually call the references. Then pay in draws as phases are completed and signed off, never ahead of the work. The contractor relationship will make or break your first deal more than the purchase price will.
Bria, first deals often come from more than one source at once, so it helps to keep every lead in one simple sheet from day one: the address, where it came from, the asking price, your rough after-repair value and the date you last followed up. When an agent or a wholesaler sends you something, pull the sold comps yourself before you trust their number, the way Jimmy described. Ask your agent for listings that have sat on the market for a while, because that is often where a workable first flip hides. After a few weeks, your sheet will show you which source sends deals that fit your numbers, and that is where to spend your time.