Thursday, October 17, 2013

Flipping Houses Becoming Profitable Again

By Cornelius Nunev


Remember the flipping houses boom before the economic downturn hit, where a lot of people turned over run-down properties and sold them? It's making a bit of a comeback recently, as investors were able to grab a ton of homes for dirt cheap and now are starting to see a bit of a payoff.

Actually making money off homes

When people were actually buying homes, there was a pretty penny to make when flipping properties. Many people were in the business of flipping properties before the recession started.

People can make cash off a house if they flip it as opposed to just living in it. Houses are a lot of work and cost a ton of money due to improvements, repairs, maintenance, taxes and other costs you would not consider when looking at the cost. There is potential to make cash, but it does take work on an older house.

However, the formerly-popular house flipping industry, according to the Washington Post. RealtyTrac, the real estate website, reports a 25 percent increase in the first half of this year over the same period last year.

Arizona viewing more flipping

The hardest hit areas in the country during the recession are where some of the highest numbers for flipping properties are. Nevada, Florida, and Arizona saw inflated real estate values, so they were all hit hard. Phoenix, Arizona saw 10,000 flips, making it the leading areas.

There have been over 100,000 homes flipped in the country total. The Chicago Tribune pointed out that Chicago is just one of the cities experiencing an increase in flipping. It saw a 30 percent increase with 1,067 homes flipped this year alone. Areas where there were a ton of foreclosure sin the recession, such as Atlanta, Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, saw enormous flipping numbers as well.

Needs talent

It is essential that you research the homes to find a house that is worth flipping before getting into the process. It takes a ton of extra and cash to purchase a house and put upgrades into it. Some people think it is simple to get a house, upgrade it and sell it for additional cash, but according to CNBC, most flipped properties are uninhabitable and need a brand new home. Make sure you research before you try it out.

Auctions do not always have the best properties, and, according to MSN, it is nearly impossible to get a property that could be flipped with no money down. You need a ton of cash on hand to get the house.

Don't be seduced by reports of wild amounts of money either. The Washington Post astutely points out that RealtyTrac reported a $29,432 gross profit per flip, which is just the difference between purchase and sale price; it doesn't account for flipping costs. RealtyTrac did not report net profit, or profit after overhead. Making friends with contractors is also a great idea, as an individual who doesn't know how to plumb the home, wire or find a wall stud is going to find themselves over their head in a hurry.




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