Archive for September, 2008

13
Sep

Where to Find the Money To Flip That House

I am frequently asked, “Where can I get the money to do a Real Estate Flip?” There are a lot of people out there that would like to try to Flip That House, but they don’t even try because they either don’t have the money and/or don’t think they can get financed. But the truth of the matter is that you don’t need any of your own money to Flip That House and you don’t need good credit. You can get the money even if you have BAD CREDIT.

To begin with, there are lenders out there, and I am not referring to conventional lenders, that will base their determination on the quality of the deal and the asset (property) itself. Your credit does not even enter into the equation. If they can see value in the deal and that money can be made by not only the borrower, but themselves, they will be more than willing to provide the money to complete the deal. These lenders have been referred to as Hard Money Lenders. But there also Private Money Lenders who will lend you money every day of the week based on the merits of the deal.

Now I must admit that there are equity based lenders out there that do require a minimum of a 620 credit score before they will lend the money. But that is not true of all of them. There a plenty of others who are strictly value based.

The first thing you will need to do is acquire a property and enter into a deal that follows the 70% rule. We discuss the 70% issue in more depth at Flip That House Website, but simply put it means that the purchase price and cost of repairs on the property must be no more than 70% of the ARV (After Repair Value).

Some hard money lenders, because of the housing meltdown, are now requiring a 10% deposit. But I will show you, in future posts, how you can get that money too, so you don’t have to use your own money. So stay tuned and continue to visit www.FlipThatHouseWebsite.com for more tips on how to Flip That House.

07
Sep

Some New Numbers

In as much as I didn’t get the house on Polk for the original price I was hoping, I have had to go back and revisit my estimate for the rehab.  Originally, I had come up with a rehab cost of $104,000.  This thing needs a lot of work to successfully Flip That House and make a profit.   But, one thing I have learned about myself is that I sometimes tend to over estimate costs on these rehabs.  But by the same token, I hate to under figure the costs also.  Having to come up with additional monies out of pocket to get a project completed sucks.  It tends to cut into the bottom line drastically.

I went back through and identified a few items that may have had a little padding in them, and I’m making some cuts in the scope of work also.   One thing I am cutting is insulation.  I made an assumption that since the house was built in the ’50s it probably didn’t have much insulation in the walls and ceiling.  I was planning on taking off wall finishes and putting fiberglass batt insulation in all of the exterior walls, and pulling down the ceiling to expose the ceiling joists, so I could put in new ceiling insulation. 

I am now thinking that if I leave the ceiling up there, I can blow in some cellulose insulation  up in the attic area.  Plus, radiant barrier material is relative inexpensive and I can install that under the rafters.  Radiant barrier is a very effective way to cut down on the asorbtion of the sun’s radiant heat into the house, and it definitely will help to keep the house cooler, cutting down on the energy needed to cool it in the summer.  Similarily, it will help in the winter to keep the warmth from radiating out. 

I am also trying to see how much I can save on the pool since I had figured on completely replastering the thing.  I had a pool plastering contractor look at it and he is going to save me  some  money there too. 

So after sharpening my pencil, getting some actual bids on work, and revising the scope of work, I have a new budget of $79,300.  With any luck this should leave me with about a $7,000 cushion for those inevitable unplanned costs. 

We’re planning on closing on the house later this week, so I am looking forward to getting started.

And for more great ideas that you can use if you are contemplating a Flip, check out www.FlipThatHouseWebsite.com.