Flip That House
 

Who else watches this show?

I am thinking about giving it a shot with a couple of properties. Anyone here flip houses with success?

It's not as easy as it looks .. I watch that show and you really have to pick the right house in the right area (not easy to do) Then you have to get cheap labor that does quality work another very hard thing to do .. unless you know the market pretty well I'd be careful

but i love the show .. very interesting

I watch that show fairly often, and I noticed a couple of things:

1 - most of the "flips" turn junk houses into junk houses with nice paint. Many of these people shouldn't be near a hammer.

2 - houses in many american cities are totally fucking overpriced. When I start seeing prices like $600,000 for a one story crackerbox with 2 small bedrooms and a single bathroom, I wonder what the fuck is going on.

3 - buyers are apparently easily tricked by shiny appliances and laminate floors.

Flipping houses is great as long as you know what to do.

Pal of mine acquires properties with no money down. He flips em'. Plain and simple and he doesn't even have to SEE the damn house. What he does is acquires the deed and with his own special formula, he just resells the thing BELOW market value. It's like RawAlex said, the prices on houses are "totally fucking overpriced".

Compile all that with a good corporate funding source and you flip houses on a weekly basis easy.

I get the two shows confused. I dislike the one that doesnt have the blonde host who explains if they fucked up or made it.

The other one just shows that the rebuilt, got some agent to say the price went up and that is it. No horror stories or no sales.

I did this once with a few friends. It is a lot harder than the show makes it look. Sorry for the long post, but here is my experience with it.

You need to find the right house. This means you have to scour the foreclosures and/or find houses that need a lot of work and will increase in value greatly when the work is done.

The house we bought we paid 145K for. It was a foreclosure and was appraised at 165K when we bought it. We put about 25k into it. New paint, we knocked out a wall, put in new carpet and floors, remodeled the kitchen and did a ton of landscaping. Luckily the people I did this with knew how to do a lot of this stuff, but it still took us almost three months to do it because we all have jobs and couldn't work on this every day.

After the improvements the house was reappraised at 240K. Where I live that is pretty much what an average 3 bedroom with a yard goes for ( actually that is lower end of the market these days ) It took us three months, but we sold it for 235K.

When you figure it out:
25K for remodel
4 house payments of $900 each = 3600 ( I say four because we put 10k down and were given 60 days until the first payment was due so we had to make 4 payments while we did the upgrades and sold it)

Cost of realtor 3.5% of sale price approx $8200

Other (including inspectors, research, permits etc) $500

Total profit approx $52,700
Split if 4 ways around 13,100 each. Not bad, obviously with less partners it could be more and we made mistakes that cost us money. Looking back we could have got a price cut probably down to around 2% for the realtor and we could have saved around 5K on some of the things we did wrong with the remodel. Also we could have afforded to put more down and should have negotiated a better mortgage. If we put down around 40K we probably could have negotiated to not have any payments for 6 months.

Also, it really is hard work unless you know where to hire good cheap contractors, or you are willing to make less profit and hire contractors. A lot of it depends on the market you are in and things like that. There is some money to be made, but it's not as easy as the show makes it out to be.

Would I do it again? Yes under the right conditions.

Interesting posts guys. Keep 'em coming.

i buy houses and rent them out, i could flip them if i wanted to but right now i want to make $ long term. i do everything the profitable way but its a lot of work. if you dont know what you're doing theres a very good chance you will lose money. i have a real estate license so i can look up my own houses and find the best deals, you also have to know how to do the work yourself or have people who know what they're doing that work cheap. i have a bunch of different workers that do stuff for me really cheap and a little bit of stuff i do myself.

i think the one you are talking about is called property ladder. i watch them sometime, my fiance watches them all though and i see them on the dvr. i think the others are flip THAT house and flip THIS house, someone wasn't very original :)

he dislikes most of them with the people who bid insanely low amounts and just try to slap a house together in a week and everything always works out and there is a happy ending.

Yeah thats it, property ladder. At least on that one people fail miserably on occasion and you get to see the mistakes and the no sales etc.

10:1
YOU = TAX CODE GOD

:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

I saw an episode of that where a couple bought a decent house and put a pretty decent chunk of change into it. The two things they didn't do were to add central AC ( it was in southern California) and then when they were done and got the new appraisal they got greedy and tried to sell it without a realtor. After 9 months of paying 1500 a month they paid 15K to list the house with a bunch of Realtors and sold it, but they ended up losing more than half their profit. If they had put in AC and used a realtor it would have sold fast and they could have made a really nice profit. greed sometimes kills

ALRIGHT LOOK,
I'M DRINKIGN AND DRUNK AND LOADED

tHAT SAID, DON'T LISTEN TO NORMAL PEOPLE.. AND DON'T GO IN UNPREPARED. WOULD YOU FUCK SOME SCANDALOUS ASS BITCH WHO HAD HERPES AND SWAMP FEVER, FUCK NO YOU KNOW BETTER, WELL DON'T BE STUPID IN REAL ESTATE EITHER.

THAT ONE FUCK HEAD TOLD THE STORY ABOUT THEM WORKING LIKE DUMB ANIMALS AND ONLY MAKING ABOUT 10 APIECE.. RIGHT- THAT'S BECAUSE THEY HAD NO IDEA IN ALL HELL OF WHAT THEY WERE DOING

ALOT OF PEOPLE DON'T.

dON'T LISTEN TO TELEVISIION GURU FUCK BALLS THEY'RE FULL OF SHIT LIKE AN ENEMA MACHINE, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU ARE DOING, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GO OUT FOR AN HOUR AND FIND A PROPERTY AND MAKE A KILLING - YOU FUCKING PUT time INTO FINDING A deal AND MOST FUCKUPS WOULD NOT KNOW A DEAL IF IT fucked them up their stupid asses YOU HAVE GOT TO KNOW WHAT IN THE FUCK YOU ARE DOING- 92% OF NORMAL FUCKUPS DON'T KNOW, THAT INCLUDES FUCKING SO CALLED '"EXPRETS" FUCK THEM THEY'RE, MOS OF THEM, THEY'RE CLUE OF A LESS

LEARN, AND BE READY TO PUT ALOT OF TIME INTO FINDING A DEAL- DON;T LISTEN TO ANYONE WHO DOES THE WORK THEMSELVES, THEY ARE STUPID- A REAL DEAL WILL ALLOW FOR A PROFESSIONAL , YOU NEVER TOUCH THE PROPTERY SURE YOU MIGHT DO SOME SILLY SHIT LIKE PAINTING OR GRASS CUTTING BUT THAT IS ABOUT IT IF YOU ARE WORTH A SHIT AS A re INVESTOR YOU NEVER HAVE TO DO ANY OF THE WORK

THE MORE WORK YOU DO THE LESS YOU MAKE,
BECAUSE,
WHILE YOU'RE WORKING LIKE A STUPID ANIMAL, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN OUT FINDING AND DOING ANOTHER DEAL, DO THE WORK YOURSELF YOU MISS DEALS YOU TIE UP CAPITAL TOO LONG YOUR HOLDING COSTS GO UP ETC ETC ETC


I'VE SPOKEN I DARE ANY FUCKING HUMAN TO DISPUTE ONE FUCKING WORD I HAVE SAID


PS I AM DRUNK BUT i'M RIGHT

Haha,
Greedy FUCKHEADS never ever succeed in real of an estate
If you're a serious about turning property you list it 10% under FMV or you use a realtor ... a real property turner wants to be in and the fuck out BLAM
He knwos tying up capital just costs him any way so maybe he loses a few percent selling quick but BLAM he is able to do more deals and that loss is made up 100 times - it don't matter if he's working on cash OR CREDIT that applies.

Same series, caught one couple who just put to much into a house. They bought the worst house on the worst block and then put to much reno into it to push them out of the market.

Stupidm people suck
Now those idiots will be telling about how bad real estate is,
Oh it is so bad,
fuck 'em

I can;'t Even invest in property right now,
Becauuse I am fucked,
But once I am able to look the fuck out

I'ma blow up like my balls in a Korean Asian or SOUTHERN TEXAN woman

I like the one that features Trademark Properties. The others are cheap knockoffs.

That show no longer is loyal to that one company. It now features a family firm in Texas and another firm in Atlanta I believe. Pretty sure the Texas one is like spanish or italian and the others are african american.

yea, that one use to be just one company and it was less annoying. now it's armando montelongo and his family, i can't really take a whole show of it anymore. i forget the other company name, but i don't like that one either.

the trademark company is trying to get their own show on TLC now i think, and suing A&E.

god, why on earth so i know so much about this??? :helpme :helpme :helpme

i haven't watch that show...

I've only watched that once or twice. I am not really into that thing.

Flip THIS House (A&E) follows pro companies (although this year it really seems to be following some serious dumbasses), as they purchase, update, and reselling all sorts of properties. The original group from South Carolina were pretty cool people and you could tell that these people had a business attitude towards getting stuff done. This season it is split over two groups much closer to "mom and pop" organizations rather than professionals, and it shows in the quality of the work and the markets they hit.

Flip THAT house (Discovery) follows mostly first time and individual flippers, as they try to figure out how to do a flip. Some of them are semi-pro types and know what to do, but many of the people involved are pretty clueless. Don't watch this one too closely, otherwise you will see shoddy workmanship and quick fixes applied with little concern for the underlying state of the property. Much of this stuff would work only in places where properties are sold "as is as seen", because many of these junky re-dos are going to fall apart soon.

Property Ladder (TLC) sort of bridges the gap. This one has more of a "end to end reality" feel about it, and the all important "end money made" is a better indication than just havin some friendly agent come in a make nice noises. Money talks... this show is probably the better of the bunch for the novice flipper trying to get a grip on the concept.

i agree 100%. the better the deal you find, the more $ you make instantly. i usually find the good deals then lowball them. with how shitty the market is right now, they will take your lowball price very often.

Me and my folks have done it a few times.

i watch that show

i watch it once in a while...its always fun when idiots get into the real estate game to make easy money...from having renovations made to my own place it would seem like a fucking nightmare of a job...

I'm The Fred, I'm sober, and I approve of my drunken messages.

Remeber also, that is a TV show sponsered by appliance makers and home improvement suppliers.

They should make one for Pimps, put it on UPN and call it "Flip that Ho!"
And one for old stripers called; "This old Ho!"

How about one for ugly hookers called "Extreme Make over: The Ho edition!"

Flipping houses is a bitch! Unless of course you have a serious bankroll and resources to buy properties with cash and get 'em fixed and on the market on schedule. I am not saying that it can't be done, but it is difficult for the first timer to pull off and make a profit on.

Best bet is to get a good bankroll, or a partner with cash and plan on going over budget and double your schedule to get the work done.

Also remember that your selling costs will be 8-10% of your selling price and you will pay increased capital gains on what you do make, provided you are honest about it. Factor that into what they usually make on those shows and they dont look so hot any more.

With that said, if you have some cash to play with, I have a crew ready to roll and a real estate agent sitting here next to me.

yea i'm seen the show.

I watched it once (either flip THIS or flip THAT I don't know) and was so disgusted with the shitty principals of the "protagonists" that I turned it off when they started trying to jew down the Mexican contractors ("I have a number in my head and it's not the number you just said . . . . try again") and then belittled and tormented them because they were going to take a day off to participate in the marches. I just wanted the shitty shallow people to lose money, they were such tremendously dirty pathetic assholes.

I hate fucking TV shows like that. It creates false hope in alot of people. All of a sudden everyone is trying to flip a house.

I tried this when I was 20 yrs old.

Found lots of foreclosures where they had been in the house 15 yrs or better but I never closed a deal.

I seemed to come off as a con man or something some how. At least that's what the owners thought of me.

I got called young punk many times.

1 time was really sad because I later saw the owner at the court house crying as his home got auctioned off for less than I offered him.

He walked away with only 30 days to move and no money.

That was 10 yrs ago & I dont think I'll try it again. Just not interested @ this time.

I do watch the show from time to time though.

http://www.fugly.com/media/view.php?cat=MOVIES&id=614

It that when the mexicans went out marching against us Americans? They're lucky to be alive - in a less tolerant country, if you march against them, they'd declare war on you. 30 years ago we would have.

And those idiots raise up prices and kill alot of deals for real investors.
A lose/lose situation except for the sellers.

What did you wear, how did you talk, did you know what you were doing, could you answer their questions?

Yeah I watch it. I liked that Trademark company. They were funny.

While I find the Montelengo's, and the blacks entertaining. I mainly watch now for toe shots of that Veronica. She's SMOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKIN.

I watch all of the "flip" shows I can, as it's something I'd REALLY like to do in the near future. Having owned my own house for 6 years now, I've learned a lot of (expensive) lessons, and have met some truly good, reasonably priced subcontractors I'd trust to work on any property I might find. Unfortunately, with the obscenely high prices here in L.A., I may have to wait a couple of years and/or look for property in other areas.

Question for you flippers: I'd really like to get my RE license (so I'll have access to more listings)... is it a good idea, and worth the $300 or so it'll cost for the courses & tests?

I dressed professionally, I talked professionally, I studied a course in this so answering their questions was not an issue.

It was just my age (imho) and that was what insulted them.

My age always seemed to be 1 of the deciding factors and it was only after I answered that question (how old are you) did the name calling begin.

It seemed to be more of a pride issue with them than anything else.

I like those shows. More flips made money in the first season :)

Gotta find the dog house in a neighborhood with higher value, not the dog house in a dog neighborhood.

which is actually a good thing for those who know what they are doing. You can come in and get someones project that already has demolition done, and some of the rewor, take it off their hands for a loss (to them) and make a nice profit.

Exactly. :)

I love how in your world there are no Mexican-AMERICANS.

You have to be kidding, "marching against us Americans". Stupid.

I love the show just to get ideas.. but it has convinced my husband that its easy..even though that fuck knows that everything he does ends up being 5 times as hards as he thought it was.. He even thinks he is quitting his job by the end of next year to do this..christ, he doesnt take in the fact of all the downpayments, closing costs, paying Mortgage till its sold, and the cost of all the supplies.

The show pisses me off when I see the price of some shit hole one room house in run down neighborhoods priced at 500K (something that wouldnt sell in my area for 45K) then sold for 700K or something absolutely outrageous...way to keep those jacked up prices on houses that arent worth 1/4 of what they are listed for...the greed to make $200K in 8 weeks time makes me want to punch some of these folks in the head.. they are contributing to the outrageous fiasco the real estate market has turned into in some of these states.

I watch it often. Not sure if it a good time to be flipping right. Are house prices still soaring?

I watch all those shows... Property Ladder, FlipThisHouse and the other one. Sure, they make it looks easy and you have to realize... it's TV! If you watch for ideas and get inspired, then that's good.

I've got a few rentals now... not easy dealing with tenants but worth it for the long term! Most millionaires in the US got rich thru eal estate. If you seriously at the overall picture and not the mthly income... you've got some guy or girl helping to pay off your mortgage.

I LOVE REAL ESTATE :winkwink:

Thats one of my favorite shows.

I did a few years ago for about 5 years when shit was HOT, not a good time right now, maybe in FL and some parts of TX...in the RE biz these past few years in CA has been super profitable