Fast Real Estate Profits in Any Market: The Art of Flipping Properties--Insider Secrets from the Experts Who Do It Every Day

201 Pages·2006·1.79 MB·English

by  Sebastian Howell

FAST REAL ESTATE PROFITS IN ANY
MARKET:
The Art of Flipping Properties—Insider
Secrets From the Experts Who Do It Every
Day
By Sebastian Howell
FAST REAL ESTATE PROFITS IN ANY MARKET: The Art of Flipping Properties—Insider
Secrets From the Experts Who Do It Every Day
Copyright © 2006 by Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
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ISBN-13: 978-0-910627-68-1 ISBN-10: 0-910627-68-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Amanda C., 1973-
Fast real estate profits in any market : the art of flipping properties’
insider secrets from the experts who do it every day / Amanda C. Smith.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-910627-68-1 (978-0-910627-68-9 : alk. paper)
1. Real estate investment. 2. House buying 3. House selling. 4. Real
estate business. I. Title.
HD1382.5.S526 2006
332.63’243--dc22
2006012540
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•
Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
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TABLE of CONTENTS
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: Why Real Estate?
CHAPTER 2: What is Flipping?
CHAPTER 3: The Players
CHAPTER 4: A Legal Primer
CHAPTER 5: The Issue of Financing
CHAPTER 6: FHA/VA Loans
CHAPTER 7: Finding Property that is Prime for Flipping
CHAPTER 8: Sell or Hold?
CHAPTER 9: Renovating Properties
CHAPTER 10: From Investment to Flip—The Art of Showing and Selling
SUMMARY of the progression of a property flip
CONCLUSION
REFERENCE
GLOSSARY
FOREWORD
Alas! Finally someone has written one of the most informative books that
should be listed #1 on the required reading list for anyone involved with the
acquisition or sale of real estate. I always wondered why I could not find a
comprehensive book written about investing in real estate.
After reading Fast Real Estate Profits in any Market: The Art of Flipping
Properties, I totally understood why it has taken so long. I felt as though the
author had been following me around whilst I was working with one of my first
customers who needed to do a 1031 within a limited amount of time. Of course
he was selling a property in a different state and wanted to acquire one of the
properties that I was selling in Mexico. However, after leafing frantically
through my RE book and searching the internet I informed him that this would
not be considered a 1031. I became his Realtor and he purchased a property that
he flipped within a few months. He has flipped four properties since then.
Today almost everyone is interested in real estate. There was a time when
property was kept in a family for generations. Those days have almost
disappeared in the United States. Even first time homeowners begin the process
of flipping before they have made the decision to purchase. As a Realtor I have
found that one of the first questions that I am asked is: “Do you think that this
property will increase in value and how much did the owner pay for it?” I am
constantly being asked questions about investing in real estate by people in
various professions.
Because of globalization the world has shrunk. Many of my customers and
clients are international and they too are investing and flipping. I am constantly
being asked questions about investing in real estate from students to the workers
in luxury buildings and garage attendants. Although I am a Certified
International Property Specialist who has spent many hours in mandatory real
estate classes that were taken in the United States and in Greece, I feel that this
book will be a great asset to me as a professional.
EUGENIA C. FOXWORTH
Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy
1200 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10028
212.327.1200, Ext. 263
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.eugeniafoxworth.realtor.com
www.cbhk.com
Eugenia Foxworth was elected in 2005 to serve as the President of the New York City Local Council of
FIABCI-USA through December 2006. As a Certified Previews Property Specialist, she specializes in
exceptional properties in New York City and internationally. She has acquired a reputation with both buyers
and sellers as someone who can make a deal happen through her tenacity, knowledge of the market,
professionalism and personality. She is licensed with the Real Estate Board of New York and is a member
of the Manhattan Association of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors and FIABCI. She is a
Coldwell Banker Certified Previews Broker and a Certified International Property Specialist. Eugenia
resides in New York and has lived and traveled extensively throughout the world.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION: THE allure of real
estate
Are you reading this book because you have concerns about the security of
your 401K? Perhaps you are just looking for a way to work on your own terms
and still make great money. The initial allure of the real estate world may be
different for many people, but the prospects are the same. With potential profits
of about 6 percent from sales that are generally in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars, property is a hot commodity. Real estate, as a business, perhaps turns out
more millionaires per capita than any other. With the odds working for you
rather than against you, it is difficult not to be tempted by the potential for
financial freedom, the chance to work on your own terms and your own time,
and the lifestyle that comes with the independence of being a successful
entrepreneur.
Today’s corporate business world is unstable. This is no secret. The concerns
brought about the constant restructuring and reformation of large American
corporations has, for the last decade, played a steady role in the frequent
fluctuation of the stock market and is responsible for thousands of displaced
workers every year. It is becoming all too clear to many that in 21st century
America, real financial security comes from our own perseverance. Having a
good job is no longer enough. According to statistics, the average person will
have between 7 and 10 jobs during his lifetime. Of those, 3 to 5 will involve
major career changes. Those figures support why a growing number of people
are now asking themselves what will happen to their family if their corporate
jobs are affected by a shift. More and more people are beginning to feel the need
to seek the safety net of an alternative source of income, and the advantages of
real estate stand on their own merit when measured against other business
contingents.
One of the reasons the purchase and sale of property is appealing as a career is
because of its ability to quickly rebound from—and even resist—downturns in
the economy at large. Think about it. People will always need shelter. It is one of
the basic human needs. In addition, the human population is rising at a fairly
rapid pace. In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the American
population will double to almost 600 million people by the year 2100. Housing
demands are already mushrooming. Experts predict 14 million new households
by 2010. Clearly, the demand for housing is not going to go away and will only
continue to rise. More people mean a need for more housing. Real estate may, in
fact, be one of the only businesses not susceptible to the increasingly unstable
economy and virtually untouchable by constantly changing technology. Even the
greatest technological advances are never going to be able to eliminate the need
for shelter.
Table of Contents