The term flipping in real estate brings up the thoughts of bad and unsavory characters out to steal houses from little old ladies and unsophisticated home owners. The truth is that the thieves and crooks should be in jail. Those of us who make it a part of our business buying and selling property should not be aligned with that same bunch. Flipping is not a crime! Buying and selling real estate for profit is normal business here in the U.S.A. Homeowners everyday sell property they purchased with the full and complete understanding that when they sell the property it will be worth more at the sale than it was when they purchased it because of appreciation. Investors flip houses, commercial property, and land. On the other hand investors dont wait for appreciation to increase the value they will know how they are going to increase the value before buying the property. They will use their knowledge and skills to bring additional value to the property, by rezoning, subdividing, renovating, bulldozing and building new, buying low and selling high. New investors can learn the process Real Estate investment strategies are numerous and some are so convoluted that it would take a book to explain but in every case the same mantra holds true know your way out, before you go in. A very simple truth of the basic investment strategy is to know what you are going to do with the property before buying it. Know your market, know your values Investors must know the marketplace or have access to information that is reliable. They must know the cost or have trusted advisors who are knowledgeable about the costs of repairs, financing, fees of attorneys, engineers, architects, and be able to move fast when the opportunity presents itself. Understand your role Investors look for and make deals. Contractors do the construction work, attorneys do the legal work, accountants do the accounting, engineers do the engineering, and Investors do the investing. If you want to be a contractor and make a living wage please do, if you want to make the big bucks be an investor and hire good people to do the other jobs because you are too busy doing yours. A little short of cash In the beginning you think you can save money by doing the work your self, thats far from the truth. The professionals do the work better and faster and cheaper than you ever could. Add it up what opportunities did you miss because you were setting tiles in a bathroom? What big new deal did you not partner on because you were too tired to open your email for three days? What big news did you miss that could have made you an extra $75,000 on an offer you just signed because you were too busy doing someone elses job? You may be a little short of cash but that has more to do with not knowing your way out before you went in. |
