Help us make our first flip successful!!

[Rachan M.]

Happy Sunday to you all!

We are planning to jump in and try our hand at a flip in DC. We have identified a house and have worked out our ceiling of how much to pay for it. Would you chime in for a few questions we have?

• We have been watching the trend.. some flips have gone smoothly i.e. remodeled in 3-4 months while others take 1+ year and involve multiple stop order notices. Do you think corruption in DC govt has a role to play in this?
• How can we go about finding competent contractors, especially ones who have worked in DC before? What questions can we ask them to uncover any red flags?
• We're in touch with an architect who has worked on at least one fast remodel. What questions can we ask them to uncover any red flags?

Thanks so much!

[Dan Robinson]

I'm not sure what the scope of your project is, but it can easily take 3-4 months just to get permits in DC depending on the level of construction. And it's not corruption, it's just a lot of incompetence, red tape and and dozen different departments, utilities and inspectors you will need to schedule and coordinate.