Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Flipping Houses: Bargains, Distressed Houses, and Fixer-Uppers

by Jeanette Joy Fisher

Real estate investors make money when they find a bargain property which they can purchase for less than market value and resell or rent for profit. The key may be a "distressed seller" who needs out right away because of overwhelming problems like financial difficulties, such as divorce, death, addictions, pending foreclosure, lack of money, job loss, or transfer. Sometimes a seller wants to use the money to purchase another property or start a different business and is willing to offer a bargain price to move on. Many investors who purchased at a deep discount can make a nice profit and turn the property to another investor for fast cash.

To buy a bargain property, uncover the seller's motivation and find a solution to their problem. Most often, the seller wants a fast escrow or closing. However, some home sellers want fast cash to solve money problems and want to stay in the house.

A "distressed property" is one that needs help to bring it up to saleable condition--a fixer-upper. Owners of fixers are not always distressed sellers. They might not be in foreclosure or facing financial problems. They may just lack motivation or know-how to fix up the property and haven't sold it because most home buyers want a house in good condition.

You can make money buying both bargains and fixers. It depends on whether you want to work with houses in good condition or fixer-uppers. Some investors only buy houses in prime condition from sellers who are willing to discount for a fast sale. In today's market, you must know how you're going to make a profit before you purchase a house. If you know the market is still active in your area and you have a strong change of reselling in a couple months for full price with the right marketing strategy, you can make an offer that gives you plenty of margin.

If you want to turn a fixer into a new owner's dream home or rental, you must know how much the house will cost to fix. Many investors buy fixers with rehab funding and don't risk their own money. After fixing the house, they refinance and rent, take some profit out, and have the tenants make the payments. House flippers fix and sell right away for fast cash.

Of course, if you want to fix houses, you want to find a fixer that is also a bargain house for the highest return on your money and time.

Learn how to fix and flip houses with the interior design edge for higher profits.

Free ebook on Flipping Houses

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home