3 Steps To Starting A House Flipping Business

 

 

Real estate is almost always a great business to be in. Property is one of the safest investments to make especially when the economy is in disarray.

 

One of the most lucrative ways to make money in real estate is to become a house flipper. That is when you buy cheap houses and either wait until the property value rises and then sell, or add value by fixing the house up and then selling.

 

It is not easy and it does take a keen mind and some money to put up front to get going, but when done right, it is a great business to start and grow.

 

In this article, I will go over several of the steps necessary to make a living as a house flipper.

 

1 - Buy low sell high

 

The first thing to do is to start looking around for good opportunities to buy cheap but that have the possibility to sell for a higher price in the not too distant future.

 

For instance, you should be looking for people interested in short sales. This is when people need to sell their house for less than the mortgage. When house values drop more than 20% then a short sale is likely their best option to get out from an underwater mortgage.

 

Ohio Short Sale Center and others like it are experts at the process so learning the process from them or a similar service can help. 

 

Selling high is kind of the tricky part, however. If the housing market is in crisis then selling the house for a profit may take a while.

 

You can speed up the process by adding value in the form of renovations or building an addition onto the home.

 

2 - Get your real estate license

 

Though you don’t need to have this license to flip houses, it is very helpful. The more prepared you are when going into this the better.

 

Not to mention you can cut out some of the middlemen and keep more of the fees for yourself. Not only that, but the course and test can help you get very familiar with the terms and how the process goes.

 

Knowing how the financing works, what zoning laws are all about and what all the forms are for is very important.

 

3 - Know how to renovate yourself

 

The more handy you are with a saw, the more money you can make as a flipper. What I mean by that is that you should do as much of the renovation work as you are qualified to do.

 

Laying tile, installing cabinets and putting down carpeting can be done on the cheap when you are able to do it yourself.

 

You’ll need to hire out a few jobs like plumbing or the electrical work, unless you are qualified to do that as well.

 

Only hiring out when it can’t be avoided will save you money so you can keep it in your own pocket.