I want to learn how to flip houses. Armando Montelongo has a combination of e-books and cd’s called “Flip it now” and “Flip and Grow Rich”. Before I purchase anything I’d like to know if anyone has tried it.
If you are interested in flipping a house you need to have two things – money and skill. My experience is that the estimates the TV shows give are totally unrealistic. They show entire homes being gutted and redone for $60K. Unless you are already skilled at plumbing, carpentry and an electrician, lets just say not in your wildest dreams. They also show people with time lines of 12 weeks…Sorry, but that is not realistic either. Permits require time (weeks) then there is the time it takes to get the professionals you need to your house. Believe me when I say they are not just sitting around waiting for your call. You have to get on the “list”. Next we have the market issues. Houses are expected to drop again and the market will be in a slump for perhaps 4-5 years. Are you able to make a purchase and turn it around, and still make it a good buy for The poor market? If not, be prepared to keep th house, rent it, and wait.
August 14th, 2009 at 1:32 am
The real estate market has changed. It is no longer a seller’s market. Prices are falling and that is the time to buy and hold, not flip. You will lose your XXX if you try flipping houses in this market. Why? Values are falling, not rising. And you can’t depend on buying a fixer-upper that will turn a profit with a few cosmetic changes—not in a falling market!
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Tax accountant for 27 years.
August 14th, 2009 at 1:59 am
If I were you I’d check with your public library. That would give you an idea if they are worth the price to you!
May you flip to riches! Pandora
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August 14th, 2009 at 2:18 am
Depending where youre at, it is better to have a rental than to flip. The money has already been made, what is left now are a lot of late comers comming in a saturated market making a slim profit, if they can even do that.
Most of the time, the loans for getting a flipper is a hard money loan. The interest is much higher. If youre unable to flip it in 30 days, then you will be hit with a mortgage bill that will eat away the profits you may get in the sale. If you are unable to sell in aresonable time, you will be in ‘deep’ water.
The real estate market is saturated with people flipping houses in the past few years, now the bankrupcies / foreclosures are catching up. Better to get some rentals than get into flipping.
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Do not waste ur money in flipping.
August 14th, 2009 at 2:32 am
I have flipped properties, and it requires a lot of knowledge in general real estate, finance, the market you are in and lots of construction experience. I only watch flip this house as a comedy, it is fake as presented with false numbers, false concepts such as doing a complete remodel with out permits, its made for TV fantasy show, they make every mistake in the book and still make thousands, get real. The concept of show is for these people to make money, thousands and thousands LOL and find investors and sell worthless books and tapes. Scam. Also one of them was just arrested last month and charged with fraud, sssssssssstealing the money and missrepresentation, showing houses he did not own, did not sell did not flip. You can flip if you know it but not for their figures.They are Not Teachers.
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August 14th, 2009 at 3:20 am
If you are interested in flipping a house you need to have two things – money and skill. My experience is that the estimates the TV shows give are totally unrealistic. They show entire homes being gutted and redone for $60K. Unless you are already skilled at plumbing, carpentry and an electrician, lets just say not in your wildest dreams. They also show people with time lines of 12 weeks…Sorry, but that is not realistic either.
Permits require time (weeks)
then there is the time it takes to get the professionals you need to your house. Believe me when I say they are not just sitting around waiting for your call. You have to get on the "list".
Next we have the market issues. Houses are expected to drop again and the market will be in a slump for perhaps 4-5 years. Are you able to make a purchase and turn it around, and still make it a good buy for The poor market? If not, be prepared to keep th house, rent it, and wait.
References :
September 25th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Maggie Jean has some points but is way off on others. I purchase and flip, but mostly purchase for rental investments in this market. However, I have never had “weeks” to get a permit for repair. Generally I receive the permit the same day it is requested. I have gutted a small house including drywall, all new plumbing and upgraded electric for 10 grand, all inspected and legal. And in fact, the pros ARE waiting around for your call, they are needing work desperately. I could call right now at 10am and have a dozen contractors on my step by 3pm. I’ve been doing this since 1995 and have never had to wait. Only time spent is weeding through the many crook contractors. I’ve never had a project run over 6 weeks, even a full gut. If you know what you are doing, flipping is still profitable but you have to pick your property and location carefully and ride your team. Forget about the high dollar homes, focus on the middle income neighborhoods and if you know what you are doing you can still make a killing. Suburbs are goldmines. But you have to be willing to take a $20K profit instead of holding out for that $200K goldmine. People still trolling for that huge payday in this market are like the boxer who waits until the 12th round waiting for the perfect time for the knockout punch while the other guy is racking up the points. You’ll get to $100K much faster flipping 5 for $20K than waiting for that one miracle find. And housing prices are rising, the ’slump’ is well on its way out. PS – I have never made a downpayment yet, or used a hard money lender. I use conventional mortgage loans from the local savings and loan and still get fully funded, sometimes still get money in my pocket at closing because I NEVER purchase a property for more than 70% of appraisal, that is the key. It can be done but you have to keep at it.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
I’ll agree, the shows are fake. However I’ve been Flipping Houses for years. I buy and sell properties for myself and I’m also a contracto. Not a
November 19th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
I have been buying homes to fix up and rent out for 10 years now (I started when I was 20). I’ve always bought well and limited the amount of money that I sunk in for renovations. It’s absolutely not for everyone. It is also not quite as simple and easy as the programs and books make it sound. I read around 25 books before buying my first place. I learned more from buying that 1st place than all 25 books gave me COMBINED.
So…do not trust the “professionals” any more than you trust yourself. Learn from them, but don’t let them make your decision for you. Your real estate agent and lender and title company can teach you the basics about investing in real estate. Ultimately, YOU need to be the authority for how you go about investing your money, where you buy, when you buy and whether you should flip or rent your properties. Don’t buy that 1st property until you have serious faith in YOU first, and always have exit plans established before closing (meaning, what happens if you need to dump this thing asap). Can you rent it? Can you sell it for a break even without doing any work to it? Is it worth the risk anyway? If so, be brave and plan to learn something along the way.
In regards to Armondo…if it looks interesting, take the risk. If it doesn’t feel good in your gut, it probably isn’t right for you. The only difference between him and you is that he got out there and started doing it. He also figured out that he could make even more money by getting in front of the camera and by teaching others his “secret proven methods”. That only tells me that he’s a real estate investor AND a brave entrepreneur. Just realize that he doesn’t want you to learn his magical formula out of the goodness of his heart. It may just be a GREAT program…but reality check…he does it for the money…what would YOU do in his shoes?
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