So I have decided that my strategy is going to be two pronged. I am going to start off flipping homes and pick up rentals here and there. Ultimately becoming a LL for the passive income. So with this in mind I have purchased a few resources and also started recording some flipping shows like property ladder on TLC. I am currently watching one of the shows that aired in 2007 where the guy actually quit his job so he could start a flipping property business. Not only that but is actually ignoring advice from a professional flipper. I guess the question I have is are there really people out there who actually quit there job because they are going to make it big in the flipping business?
in 2007 with the market as hot as it was people were making money that had no idea what they were doing,watch some of the ‘flipping’ shows from 2009 and see people taking big loses
today you better know your market
I watched a couple of those this morning too just to have something to laugh at. The guy on the episode you are talking about was a complete tool. There was a 2 yr old 2 story house w/ a 2 car garage directly across the street from his flip listed for $179.9. His house was smaller, older, and had his stupid design for a bathroom upstairs and he thought he was going to get more money for his. The other episode I watched had the three guys who decided to add a complete master suite and make their house the best in the neighborhood. Their house already had a good amount of stuff done and just needed some minor cosmetics. Many of the interior walls were perfect and painted nicely. They didn’t listen either. Neither of their situations worked out well. People have a way of making things hard…
I don’t watch those shows anymore, because they irritate me they are so ignorant.
One of the worst offenders is “Flip This House.” The advice you hear on that show is tantamount to committing financial suicide by stupidity.
One agent glibly pontificated how buyer are ‘only’ concerned about the kitchens and baths. Really? The splotchy, mixed-breed ‘lawn’ and weeds growing in the cracks in the sidewalks, and the half-dead rose bushes nobody pays any attention to? Not to mention the fugly paint job…?
The people on these shows are not professionals. They are hacks …that get on television. It’s like the real estate version of “Glamor Shots.” You know where the fat girls dress up in feathers and plunging necklines, because they think they can actually look sexy. Same for the investards that go on TV and expose themselves as the posers they actually are.
This is all ‘irritainment.’ I have a hard time laughing, because these folks are often losing REAL money on these projects, if not offering the worst advice.
Something interesting occurs to me about these one-off (or perhaps 'two-off") rehabber/investors …is how often they come into these deals with cash they really didn’t work very hard to come by. And the easier the cash comes, the more confident they are about their deals. It’s like the real life version of, “The Field of Dreams.”
Yep. Had a client who did that.
Two years later he was broke, divorced, lonely, bankrupt and very very angry. I’ve still got his box of papers for 2006 and 2007 because he’s never called me back.
For all I know he put a bullet in his head.
Watching those shows is like watching a train wreck, though it is entertaining at times. If you watch them just don’t get caught up in the hype. There are nuggets of good advice if you watch carefully. You see things like people losing money monthly due to holding costs, that’s a real concern that you have to worry about. Projects delayed for weeks due to permit issues for example. You can see some decent stuff in those, just don’t look at it and think you can make $50k profit on a rehab that you buy, fix and sell in a month. It doesn’t work like that.
Just like with any business venture there are people who walk away from their full-time jobs in order to focus on a new business. Every person’s financial situation is different and sometimes one choice that works one person is not a good choice for another person. The best advice is to make the decision based on what is best for your specific situation.