Flipping Houses
 

I know alot of people watch those house flipping shows on TV. Anyone doing it foreal if so whats the real deal with this.

if your asking this question, it pry isn't for you.

Thanks for the positive feedback. How many have you flipped?

My girlfriend wants me to get into this with her. I'm still hesitant. It seems the main issue is having a really, really good contractor. That means you're more than likely going to have to focus on one specific area and do it enough to keep your contractor employed full time - or else you're going to have to wait when he has other things pop up.

Actually I'd love for one of those flippers to come in and fix up MY house :)

it's risky.. in Canada, CRA overlooks it by i think around 6 sells.. then tax the living shit out of you

It takes a lot of commitment, swearing, and work. Usually you buy a shitty place in an up and coming part of town, during a hot market

Problem is you need to get it done asap, and if you're working that can get really hard. It's worth it though, you can get quite the return for it

But sosa said it right, if you're asking this question, you probably don't know what you're doing, and it might not be worth it

R

I haven't flipped a property, but just got done dealling with contractors on our new place. Key thing is having someone that you can trust and that is going to show up everyday and work all day. Our problem was contractors working one day, then they go work at another place for 3 days and finally come back to ours.

If you can have one general guy/woman there through the whole process that is going to lead other people like electricians/plumbers/drywallers etc then I think it would be alot easier.

I like flipping hoes

Another BIG THING with it is getting it done quickly so you don't get stuck with a few mort payemnts. Getting it fixed quickly and sold is key for a bigger profit.

we love watching those shows! we haven't flipped any properties, we thought we might have a little while ago because we thought the offer was too good to resist. but it wasn't too good so we DID resist it. :) good luck if you give it a try though!

A couple ppl I know, flip houses. I asked them if Capital gains tax was eating into their profit. They told me that they don't need to pay capital gains tax, due to the fact that they consider the houses they flip to be the "inventory" of their LLC.

What do I know........But, that doesn't seem correct to me. However, they seem pretty confident that they are right about it......Anyone know if this is the case?

I would def have a company setup for it, so your profit rolls into that, and then you can use that profit for your next property etc. Just like people that buy / sell houses, roll that income into another real estate property to save on taxes.

Until this year I considered "flipping" my primary occupation. Frankly, for the last several years it's been disgustingly easy to make gross amounts of money buying and selling houses with almost no work and adding little real value. Such a situation is a serious warning sign of impending economic crisis, and everybody (myself included) who participated just made the problem worse, but what choice was there? Play the game, if just to keep up, or be left behind. I am not suggesting anyone get into this game now; infact I finally got out, because I'm no gambler and I believe I've pressed the timing of this market far enough. The "can't lose" days are over. I'm sorry if you missed out, but ... you missed out.

Anyway, here's how I went about it. Base all your searches on homes built around the 1970s. The sellers of these homes are very likely themselves to be approaching their 70s, and they haven't remodeled. Their houses are well maintained but look like shit because of all the wood paneling, strange colored carpeting, and hanging gold light fixtures bigger than basketballs. I don't know how any of this stuff got installed in the first place, but my theory is americans were punishing themselves for vietnam through fashion and home decor. The average shopper can't see past this mess no matter how good the location/layout, and you can get these places at a significant discount.

Don't be tempted by those tv shows into massive projects. I've turned 8 houses and I never did any serious structural work. My attitude was if it can't be done in a few days by the team of Jerry's / HomeDepot / pot-smoking handyman, it's too much time and risk. New paint, carpet, lights, doorknobs, (sometimes) appliances, done. Purely cosmetic, finished in a week, then back on the market.

in canada you have to live in the home for 1 year if you want to sell it tax-free.

You comments are 100% on the money (basically).

I focus on houses that are 7+ years old. I have seen houses built in 2000 that had such shitty components used inside that they are ready for a remodel.

The key to flipping is flooring, cabinets, etc... Do not get involved with termite, fire damage, etc. Nothing structural! Anything that requires an architect or high level building permits and approvals -> walk away.

I love the shows as well, but have you noticed that over the last few months they've started having a hard time selling their flips? Welcome to the new market :(

Hopefully things will improve soon..