Crazy Idea to Acquire, Flip, and Sell

Crazy Idea to Acquire, Flip, and Sell

Wholesaler · Horsham, PA · Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 27 votes

Hey everyone! I posted recently about a house that needed a full gut to flip in the Philly area. The house is listed for $235k (was at $250k on my original post) but my agent talked to the seller’s agent and they indicated that they wouldn’t take less than $200k despite the amount of work that was needed. They had multiple offers in the $100,000’s but did not accept any.

I estimated that I would need $100/sq ft to rehab it (around $145k in rehab costs) and the ARV would be around $375k (likely $400 but I want to be a little conservative). I stopped considering this as an option until today when an idea came into my head. I will put the summary of the analysis below along with the chart. I wanted to get everyone's opinion on if this is as crazy as I think it is but also if it would even be possible.

Listed Price: $235,000

Est. Repair Costs: $145,200

ARV: $375,000

MPP: $125,000

I don’t have enough cash to purchase and fund the rehab for the house. Giving them the amount they want is out of the question due to the extent of work that needs to be done, so I had an idea. What if I drew up a contract where I was able to become part owner of the house (put on the title or some other way, not sure if this is legal or possible) in order to do the repairs. I would avoid paying the buying expense of the house and getting a loan for the purchase price of the house, limiting some holding expenses.

Then I would fund and coordinate the rehab costs (construction loan, hard/private money) and use draws for the construction costs as the work was completed. Once the house was rehabbed, we could list and sell (don’t think it would be difficult in this market).

Once sold, I would pay back the loan for the construction costs, plus interest (depending on finance method). Then I would pay the owner the MPP, closing costs, and half the profit that would be made. The other half of the profit would go to me (at the low end, approximately $39,000). See table below for more information (I'll post two version that are the same, just not sure how it will format when I paste it in). I used four scenarios. 1 and 2 are the higher rehab costs but the two different ARVs that seem achievable. 3 and 4 are lower rehab costs with the two ARVs. The assumptions I made are below:

  • Closing costs are calculated to be 7% of final ARV purchase price
  • Rehab costs are $100/sq ft and $75/sq ft
  • Loan interest is the loan + 10% back to the private money investor (assuming I go that route)
  • Total cost is the MPP + Closing Costs + Rehab Costs
  • Total Profit is ARV – Total Cost
  • Owner receives the MPP (what I would have paid for the house) + Closing Costs (I would have had to pay for these anyway, I could sweeten the deal for myself and offer to split them with the current owner) + Half the profit
  • Private Money lender receives their initial loan plus 10% interest
  • I receive the split profit – interest on the rehab loan

My goal was to get the owner as close to their $200k wish in order to convince them to do this less than traditional (and maybe not even possible) way. I am probably looking over some things and making some assumptions but my attempt was to be conservative. Let me know if this sounds as crazy as I think it does. It may not be worth the work or even possible but wanted to bounce the idea around.

ScenarioARVOwner CostsMy CostsSummaryPayouts
House ValueClosing CostsTotalRehabLoan InterestTotalTotal CostTotal ProfitSplit ProfitOwnerMinePrivate MoneyTotal
1$375,000.00$125,000.00$26,250.00$151,250.00$145,200.00$14,520.00$159,720.00$296,450.00$78,550.00$39,275.00$190,525.00$24,755.00$159,720.00$375,000.00
2$400,000.00$125,000.00$28,000.00$153,000.00$145,200.00$14,520.00$159,720.00$298,200.00$101,800.00$50,900.00$203,900.00$36,380.00$159,720.00$400,000.00
3$375,000.00$125,000.00$26,250.00$151,250.00$108,900.00$10,890.00$119,790.00$260,150.00$114,850.00$57,425.00$208,675.00$46,535.00$119,790.00$375,000.00
4$400,000.00$125,000.00$28,000.00$153,000.00$108,900.00$10,890.00$119,790.00$261,900.00$138,100.00$69,050.00$222,050.00$58,160.00$119,790.00$400,000.00
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  • Griffith, IN · Member since 2019 · 114 posts · 56 votes
    5y

    Zach,

    What am I missing here? First off, I wasn't able to blow your "chart" up, to see the actual breakdown. But I added up your numbers and I must be missing something. Example: Let's say you buy it for $200k. Rehab costs = $145,200 and the ARV = $375k. So your costs, NOT including closing costs, holding costs and everything else, is already at $345,200. If closing costs are let's say....$10k, you're up to $355,200. Again, that's not including other costs involved. So your "initial" cost is $355k and the ARV is only $375k. I'm either missing something or this is not a deal. Please advise and good luck.

  • Wholesaler · Horsham, PA · Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 27 votes
    5y

    @Scott Swanson I wouldn't actually buy the property. I would essentially rehab it for the owner and give them the money they are looking to get to selling.

    • ARV: $375k - $145k (rehab costs) - $125k (cost to "buy" the house from seller) - $26k closing costs = $79k left over.

    Holding costs would be just utilities and taxes since there is currently no mortgage from the current seller and I am never officially buying it from them. Hopefully I'm helping clear things up and not missing something glaring. Let me know if you have any questions. Appreciate the questions, keep them coming!

  • Griffith, IN · Member since 2019 · 114 posts · 56 votes
    5y

    Zach,

    Ok, that makes more sense. I had your purchase price at $200k, not $125k. That's a huge difference! If the seller is willing to go along with it, it might workout for everyone. I'll have to look at the numbers again, but $125k purchase price seems to make it worth pursuing.  I'm not real familiar with closing costs in Pa; but $26k seems extremely high. What does the $26k include? In my state, it would run about $3200. Are you adding in realtor fees and also holding costs like insurance, electric, taxes, water and garbage? Please keep in mind too, that lumber prices have doubled, if not tripled over the last year. I had a builder tell me last week, that the lumber cost on a house he was going to build, went from $45 to $93k. That's a major jump in costs! Best of luck to you.

  • Wholesaler · Horsham, PA · Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 27 votes
    5y

    @Scott Swanson

    I looked at the closing costs for the seller when I bought my house a few years ago and it ended up being 7% of the cost of the house and included the commissions for both real estate agents. I would definitely dig into these numbers a little better. Just wanted to get other pairs of eyes on it to see if even makes sense

  • Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 483 posts · 362 votes
    5y

    @Zack Busch this is a really really high risk plan unless you have a ton of experience in rehabbing old houses, have a good crew you can trust- because you know them well and have worked with them before AND you did your calculations correctly. Be careful.  Apparently, some savvy investors offered the lower bids and that should tell you a lot.

  • Wholesaler · Horsham, PA · Member since 2021 · 41 posts · 27 votes
    5y

    Thanks @Sheryl Sitman I agree. It is definitely high risk and something I most likely will not move forward with as my first project. The thought just came to me and I wanted to see if it had any legs for possible future properties down the road.

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