First Flip Questions

[Justin S.]

I'm doing my first flip in the next month and have a couple of marketing questions for you veterans out there.

It is an REO that I got a good deal on. I close on the property in early April with hardmoney/private money. I should be signing the contract by the end of this week. Next week is the inspection period (7 days). Repairs will take about 2 weeks. Just needs paint, carpet, tile.

When and how are you marketing your property? I plan to initially put it at 10% below market value.

Are you using an agent, flat fee MLS, Craigslist, all the above? Any I miss?

When do start marketing? now, when I sign the contract, after closing, after repairs?

Is staging working for anyone?

Thanks for the help. :D

[J Scott]

With respect to the staging question, if you're going to be flipping multiple houses, I would recommend just buying the furniture.

It took a few sets of furniture to really nail down the process, but we can now completely furnish a 3/2 house for under $2500 (with things that look high-end).

Two big keys to keep in mind when staging:

1) Make sure you buy the lightest furniture you can find. You will end up moving it once the house is sold, and if you're doing a lot of houses, the moving can be a real pain in the *ss. For example, for things like beds, you can cut down on weight by using two box-springs stacked instead of a box-spring and mattress (it's also MUCH cheaper this way).

2) Buy the smallest furniture you can find. If the furniture is small, the room will look bigger, giving the illusion of more space.

While there are a few furniture stores around that will have a good bit of small, lightweight furniture, don't hesitate to take a look on Craigslist...there's lot of second-hand stuff that is perfect for staging.