MsFinancialSavvy.com Do House Flipping TV Shows Tell the Truth About Profits?

House Flipping Profit or Not

House-flipping people send letters, postcards, and phone calls to purchase homes nationwide. They are encouraged by house flipping tv shows that make it look easy. Flippers are individuals looking for a bargain to buy and flip a home for profit. Some contacts are from people paid to find homes for others who do the flipping.

Why?

The many house-flipping tv shows incorrectly portray the perception of easy wealth. The shows are about 40 minutes of house flipping from beginning to end. But, the actual work is at least 2-4 months, sometimes 4-6 months. Both home repair services and home selling cost are very high. Hence, the process is not for the faint of heart; it is complex, expensive, and unpredictable.

Some of the homes are tear-downs, some in simple poor shape, and some an actual remodel.

No matter what the condition: House flipping tv shows do not show the problematic nature of house flipping for profit. It is hard to predict precisely what is wrong with a home, even if a great inspector analyzes its problems before the fix-up. Many defects are hard to detect unless the house is taken apart.

HOUSE FLIPPING TV SHOWS

Because it is so difficult to detect what needs to be done to rehabilitate a home, the
costs can skyrocket after the rehab is started. Some hidden damages could be a roof that
appears in good shape but has undetected leaks. The house flipping tv shows don’t usually show a certified home expecter who has advanced tools to detect all of the damage.

Dry rot can be hidden in the walls, attic, or floors. Rotting windows can be hidden behind a nice coat of paint. If heating, air conditioning, plumbing, and electric units have to be replaced, those costs could be huge. A homeowner who buys a flipped house should be very conscious of the fact that flippers frequently run out of money and hide significant problems. But, on the outside, everything looks good. Home repair services are not always anxious to find every needed repair due to the time and financial limits of the owners.

HOME REPAIR SERVICES

Speaking of costs, home repair and home remodeling is very expensive according to most home repair services. The costs are usually more than the average rehabilitation hobbyist or small contractor can afford. This is one of the reasons home flippers frequently do not make a profit. The home flipping tv shows selectively show only the homes that make a profit for them.

At the end of home flipping tv shows, they show the flips that supposedly make large profits and only take six weeks. Both of those scenarios don’t usually happen when I talk to those who flip houses. Successful home flippers can usually do much of the work themselves and are long-term experienced home repair specialists.

Home flipping repairs usually take much longer than first estimates. There are unexpected problems that add time and ongoing costs. Most home flippers I talk to tell me it is a nail-biting experience.

Another reason home flippers don’t make a profit is because the cost is shared with too many people.
For example, a small contractor, an investor, and maybe a subcontractor will share the costs of the home flipping repairs. This splits the profit in too many ways for a substantial profit for anyone.

Flippers are individuals looking for a bargain to buy and flip a home for profit

MsFinancialSavvy

HOME SELLING COST ARE HIGH

The cost to pay a real estate agent, escrow, transfer fees, and miscellaneous home selling fees will take a significant bite out of the sales price. Then, after the home is sold, whoever owned it before flipping has to pay short-term capital gains taxes on the sale. What happens when the other investors don’t pay their part of the capital gains taxes? The seller on the deed has a heavy share to pay.

Some cities and counties have excessive extra costs associated with buying a home. Buyers frequently asked the sellers to pay these costs. Otherwise, the sale may not go through.

House flippers who take out a temporary loan to cover costs sometimes lose notoriously. If the
timing is off, the daily interest on the loan can cancel out profits in a big way. House-flipping tv shows don’t usually cover all costs associated with flipping a house on the show. At the end of the tv
show, only some costs are displayed to make it appear that a profit is made, when in fact, it is not.

Many flippers miscalculate the salespoint the market will bear. Some markets will take a downturn
in the middle of the flip, and the highest sales point will not deliver a profit. The appraisal will not support a profit point if the market turns down before selling the home.

SUMMARY

When all home repair services and home selling cost are taken into consideration, flipping for profit is very difficult. House flipping tv shows make it look easy and profitable when it rarely seems to work that way.

Buyers and sellers may negotiate over excessive home selling cost associated with selling a home. If they cannot agree, the sale may fall through.