So you want to flip houses? We have all seen the shows on The Learning Channel, or HGTV where a new investor gets in over their head trying to rehab and sell (ie. Flip) a house for full retail value. So how do you avoid the hurdles and pitfalls many of these 15 minutes of fame new investors fall into?
There are 4 core areas to address to ensure you have a winning deal:
1.Is your property ready to sell?
2.How will you attract Buyers?
3.What do you do when the phone rings?
4.How will you close the deal?
Is your property ready to sell? Have you addressed the curb appeal of the home? When prospective buyers drive by, will they be compelled to get out of the car and look at your home...or will they be turned off before they can even stop the car? On the inside, have you cleaned? Have you painted, is the carpet clean, and is the flooring in good condition? Then of course, you have to consider...is your home priced right?
Once your property is ready to sell, how will you attract buyers? What sort of advertising will you do? There are many choices available...you can create flyers, hold open houses, offer finders fees, place ads in the newspaper, or use signs. The key is taking action and implementing as many of these options as it takes to begin driving traffic to your house.
When you start to get traffic from your marketing efforts, what will you do when the phone rings? Are you ready to take the calls yourself? Will you have a separate line? An answering service? Do you have a script to follow so you will be certain to capture all of the necessary information from your prospects?
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what happens next...Are you ready to close the deal? Do you have a plan in place to ask for the sale, write the contract and get the money? Have you completed the survey? Do you have a termite letter? Has an appraisal been done on the property?
If you have done your job right, each of these steps will fall into place easily. In fact, it will almost seem natural. However, miss one small step and trying to salvage what was once a deal may be insurmountable! The key is to make sure you have sufficient education and support from mentors and your team to follow through as you move through your Flip, lest you fall victim to the pitfalls that trap so many investors as we have seen on cable television!
