3 YEARS since last post. 20+ Flips later, here's an update...

[Taylor Shapiro]

Boy, time flies! It was just a few short years ago I was reaching out to flippers, asking as many questions as I could until I ran out of questions to ask! I've been in business rehabbing single family houses in central CT for the past 2.5 years and have had some great success due in part to Biggerpockets.com and everyone who helped along the way. 

This week I accepted an offer on my 20th flip. We just took photos of another finished project that I plan on listing tomorrow. I'll be wrapping up another one in the next week or two and have a HUD property under deposit and scheduled to close in 2 weeks. It's been a fun ride to say the least!

I took a job my first year managing a 300 apartment community knowing that I'd be getting into apartment buildings sooner or later. The experience was tremendous. Stressful at times yet a phenomenal education that I've been able to leverage when raising private funds from investors. 

For anyone starting out and looking for some inspiration, the age old adage "If I can do it, so can you" applies here. Feel free to reach out with any questions. I can only hope to give back as much value as I received from this site not too long ago. 

Best wishes!

[Taylor Shapiro]

Thanks @Timothy Winfield. Great questions. I haven't flipped any houses in low income areas and probably won't ever. The thought of boarding up windows and setting up security cameras to deter people from breaking into my properties isn't something I'm interested in dealing with :)

I want to minimize risk and sell my product to the largest buyer pool out there- first time home buyers. In my area, the average sale price is between $180k-$225k so this is the price range I choose to play in. 

Deciding criteria: 3+ br, 1+ baths, 1000+ sqft, no "unique" style houses or layouts, residential areas (busy streets take longer to sell). Areas where DOM are less than 60, < 30 DOM preferred. My typical rehab is $30k-$40k and takes 2 months to complete.

Find 5 towns that cater to first time home buyers. Learn what the ARVs are for those areas and get an understanding of repair costs. Don't forget to underwrite for your holding costs (atty fees, taxes, insurance, etc.) and profit most importantly. 

ARV-Rehab-Profit-Holding Costs = Max Offer.

Get after it!