House flipping has become popular for investors. And while it may look like a competitive “sport” on the popular HGTV fixing and flipping shows, it is serious business. According to ATTOM Data Solutions, a property data company, over 400,000 single-family homes or condos were flipped in 2022. That’s about 8 percent of all home sales, the largest percentage of homes sold since ATTOM began collecting house flipping data in 2005. With some specific knowledge, skills, and planning, fix and flip investments can be a path to generating great income and building wealth.
House Flipping Isn’t an Easy Success
While it can certainly be rewarding, house flipping isn’t an easy success. It can be expensive because there aren’t a lot of cheap or bargain properties sitting around in many geographies. Along with other types of real estate investments, there are risks in fix and flip investments. However, many real estate investments are long-term investments, while fix and flip investments are by nature short-term investments where speed and good margins are key. Flipping takes hard work and construction expertise. And, recently, the supply chain has proven to cause reliability problems. Despite the “hits” on TV, flipped homes aren’t always hits with the buyers. While house flipping can be done on top of a full-time job, that is not recommended because it may require lots of time plus personal and career sacrifices.
How Long Does It Take to Flip a House?
Data indicates that it takes on average about 6 months to fix and flip a home. Here are some benchmarks to guide your fix and flip investments planning:
- Market research takes 2-4 weeks to find the right property areas and to identify properties to buy.
- Setting up your finances takes about 4-6 weeks. You’ll especially want to find and develop relationships with lenders who understand the flipping industry.
- Working with your network generally takes 2-8 weeks. That includes working with a real estate agent, an attorney, and a qualified general contractor.
- Selecting and buying a house takes 2-12 weeks.
- Selling the property will take 1-8 weeks.
13 Tips for Successful Fix and Flip Investments
Follow these 13 tips to achieve success with your fix and flip investments:
- Treat this like a business. Develop a comprehensive business plan with your business vision, a strategic plan, budget, and timeline.
- Understand your risk factors and prepare for the unexpected. That should include budgeting for the unexpected and anticipating any timeline impacts for unexpected issues.
- Research your market. Find the right market locations and neighborhoods that will help you achieve the most success.
- Get professional resources. That likely will include a great real estate agent, a lawyer, and a general contractor that you can depend on.
- Work with the contractor so you know his/her skills and capabilities and so he/she can be ready to work as soon as needed.
- With your real estate professional, find the right potential property(s) to buy. Don’t buy unique properties that may be difficult to sell.
- Assess potential properties. Evaluate the potential repairs needed and their costs. Calculate the potential after-repair value (ARV). Estimate all the costs including the property purchase price, renovation costs, and selling costs.
- Get a professional home inspection.
- Make a good offer on the property you choose.
- Plan your renovations wisely. Know which renovations make sense in terms of resale value and which possible renovations to ignore. Carefully plan for and budget those renovations.
- Choose good financing.
- Do the renovations. Stick to your budget and stick to your schedule.
- Sell the property for a profit.
Seek Expert Financing Assistance
Contact CapitalAx Commercial Lending, based in Lubbock, TX to get the financing you need to establish and grow your house-flipping investment business. We offer a wide range of commercial finance programs and alternative lending solutions to help you achieve your goals. We are Texas-based but work with businesses nationwide providing expert alternative lending solutions.