List price - for real?

[Timothy Basham]

Hi - I'm planning to do fix and flips in Brandon, FL. I've been looking at the listings for minimum 2 bed, 2 bath, single family homes built in the 70s, 80s and 90s ranging from 75K to 150K (REO, Short sales and Foreclosures). I haven't visited any of the properties yet - just looking at the pictures. Most look like a minimum of 20K rehabs all the way up to 75K. All of these homes are listed at retail prices, i.e. same as homes that have sold recently. Looking at the ones that have sold - they are sold either at or slightly below the asking price and are pretty much all in the same poor state of repair. Should I even consider making any offers that fit the numbers or is this market (Brandon) even doable for fix and flips?

[J Scott]

A couple years ago, the MLS was filled with lucrative deals -- there were more deals than there were investors to buy them, and it was easy to buy dozens/hundreds of deals off the MLS without having to do much work. But, these days, in many parts of the country, you won't find good deals on the MLS anymore. Most markets have rebounded to the point where banks are no longer desperate to get their inventory sold, and there are many new investors who are happy to overpay for properties.

So, if you want to find great deals these days, the best option is to find properties that aren't publicly listed.  Direct mail marketing, internet marketing, advertising, cold calling, networking, bandit signs, etc.

It takes a lot of work to find deals these days...