Viewed my first potential flip house

Viewed my first potential flip house

Investor · Jacksonville, NC · Member since 2018 · 38 posts · 12 votes

Hello everyone, and happy Saturday!

I viewed a property that I'm interested in tackling as my first flip. It is listed at $34,500 for a 3 bed 2 bath 1,288 sqft. This house is rough but I think it can definitely be flipped, and based off similar houses in the area I feel I could sell it for $70,000-$100,000 depending on how the renovations go and appraisal.

The issues:

- Almost the entire house needs to be gutted out, the only room that I might get away not tearing apart is the entry/living room.

- It's a double wide trailer on blocks that need to be leveled

- There are a lot of soft spots in the floor that makes me feel like I'll have to replace the plywood before I can even do the floors.

- The front and back porches have these makeshift awnings over them, the front one is sagging down, and both of them have nails sticking down from the shingles because the awnings are little more than plywood.

- The back deck has also started to rot out where the steps are that lead down into the back yard, so at least half of the deck would need to be completely replaced.

- According to the realtor, the roof on the front half of the house was replaced in the past few years but the back half was not.

- There is water damage on the ceiling in one room (back side of the house) and it has mold on it.

- I need to replace every appliance in the house.

Minor issues:

- There is a few landscaping things that need to be taken care of like overgrown bushes

- There is a chain link fence that runs around the back yard with a wooden privacy fence next to it. According to the realtor, the wooden fence is part of the neighbor's property but it definitely wraps around onto this property as well.

- Part of the wooden fence is knocked over onto the chainlink. The chainlink could be fixed easy enough, but the wooden looks very weathered and I think it would look much cleaner if the whole wooden fence was removed.

The good:

- There is a shed in the back yard that is in better condition then the rest of the house.

- The price is very low because of the condition of the house, so potential for a big profit if repairs costs don't get out of hand

- Despite it's rough appearance, it doesn't actually look like a complete dumpster fire that should be torn down, and definitely looks salvageable.

- The yard is in pretty decent condition and doesn't really need much work.

What do you think BiggerPockets? I'm currently running numbers and making phone calls but I wanted to post this up so I could get some community feedback about how feasible this deal is.

Thank you to all, and Happy Mother's Day!

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Investor · New York City, NY · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 269 votes
7y

Make a low ball offer. IF accepted get your contractor in there to give you a quote., Also get a CMA to determine market value. Get all your information in front of you and then you will know if you have a potential profit.

Best of luck in all your endeavors

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  • Investor · New York City, NY · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 269 votes
    7y

    Make a low ball offer. IF accepted get your contractor in there to give you a quote., Also get a CMA to determine market value. Get all your information in front of you and then you will know if you have a potential profit.

    Best of luck in all your endeavors

  • Investor · Jacksonville, NC · Member since 2018 · 38 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    @Anthony Dadlani Thanks for the advice!

  • Christi HawkinsPro Member
    Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 239 posts · 142 votes
    7y

    @Tyler Dix  have you thought about the financing when you try to sell it? A double-wide on blocks, leveled or not could be a challenge 

  • Investor · Jacksonville, NC · Member since 2018 · 38 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    @Christi Hawkins yeah that is honestly my main concern with this house, if I get it and the foundation wants to be difficult it can tank the entire project.

  • Christi HawkinsPro Member
    Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 239 posts · 142 votes
    7y

    @Tyler Dix  Oh good!  It can tank the entire project but even if you have a foundation it's still a doublewide not a stick built or even a modular house. Please promise me you will talk to a lender in your area first before you buy it. You need to make sure your end buyer has financing options. Even if the numbers are good on paper its not a good deal if you can't sell it 

  • Investor · Jacksonville, NC · Member since 2018 · 38 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    @Christi Hawkins I'm mainly using this project to learn, I wasn't even at the point of looking for properties to flip; but when I saw it pop up it looked really good and I figured, "even if I'm not prepared to buy it, I can learn a lot from it."

    If I do end up moving forward with it, I definitely will check with a lender first, and I thank you for the advice, it's not something I would have thought to do.

  • Christi HawkinsPro Member
    Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 239 posts · 142 votes
    7y

    @Tyler Dix  wonderful!!! 

  • San Antonio, TX · Member since 2019 · 930 posts · 836 votes
    7y

    Buying at 34.5k looking to sell 70-100, what are anticipated Reno costs?  If over 15-25k there’s not much room for error

  • Investor · Jacksonville, NC · Member since 2018 · 38 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    @Kris L. Having viewed the property, and even with it being as rough as it is, I would be surprised if it went as high as 25k for reno. I have run the numbers and I'm estimating in the 15-20k range, I'm currently trying to get quotes from contractors to back that up.

  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    7y

    I agree with Anthony, get quotes and make a low ball offer.  

    Some of the things (overgrown bushes) are easy to do and you can do those yourself.  Others are bigger projects and you need a quote.  When doing the renos, keep in mind the target audience.  You won't need high end appliances or finishes.  Shop around for gently used or scratch and dent to reduce costs.  For the fence, you might be able to replace a few posts and give it a good coat of paint.

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Spartanburg, SC · Member since 2019 · 32 posts · 33 votes
    7y

    @Tyler Dix

    I'm a numbers guy and I want to believe there is always an accurate way to calculate rehab costs. When I first started I was told to come up w my number then double it. If the numbers still work, go for it. I also LOVE Christi's comment about mobile home mortgages. In SC you can have them detitled to make financing it easier. Regardless do as she said and call a few mortgage brokers and tell them you're looking to purchase a double wide as a first time buyer and get details. Are the down payments more? LTV less? Etc. I've only had one in NC and I sold it to a cash buyer.

    Good luck!!

  • Investor · Jacksonville, NC · Member since 2018 · 38 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    @Toby Chandler can you tell me about the mobile home you had? Was it a flip?

  • Ian WalshBusiness Member
    Lender · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    Nice. Usually it takes about 20-30 offers to get 1 really good deal.

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Spartanburg, SC · Member since 2019 · 32 posts · 33 votes
    7y

    @Tyler Dix I’ll shoot you a message later tonight.

  • Investor · Jacksonville, NC · Member since 2018 · 38 posts · 12 votes
    7y

    Looking forward to hearing from you @Toby Chandler!

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