House Flipping in Texas

[James King]

Hello, I am new to this forum. I live in Texas.

I am interested in fast cash turnaround, and I thought house flipping, buy-upgrade-sell, might be a good idea.

A typical scenario would be to buy a home for say $200,000, light upgrade costs around $30,000, then sell within 2-3 months for around $280,000.

I have some basic questions:

(1) Is there a market for flipping homes in Texas -- if so any particular hotspots?
(2) Are lenders willing to loan for flipping?
(3) How do you identify homes at the right price -- who do you go to?
(4) What are the best strategies, pitfalls, threats?

Any advice on this topic is welcome.

[Kevin Ivey]

I'll say it before a moderator does, get the book.

their are a lot of other costs associated with the carrying & selling. Depending on how you buy it you would have escrow property taxes, hoa, utilities & closing, loan fees pre paid interest & all the other fees they can find. Monthly interest, utilities, hoa fees, insurance, yard maintenance, any permits if needed, do you need to have any exterior paint or fence approved by an HOA? Does your area require the septic be pumped & inspected within the last year? then realtor fees yours & buyers, escrow again, any kind of tax? WA has 1.6% excise tax for a home sale. Who is paying for staging & photos. Remember its usually a full month the house is in escrow after contracts are signed before you actually get paid.

And Flipping is an active business so income tax & both you share & employer share of Soc Security & Medicare (often referred to as self employment tax)

Unlike some I am not saying don't do it I have made a great living the last 3 yrs doing it but there is a lot to it.