Good flip opportunity but homes next door are bad.

[Robert Sarno]

Found a good house to flip but the house next door is in bad shape (vacant) and the house next to that is a Rental and the current tenants have a lot of junk in the driveway and on the side of the house. The rest of the neighborhood is good though. I am concerned these 2 houses will make it hard to sell and will result in a lower ARV. We are new and this would be our first flip. We are currently not considering this but want to know if we are being too conservative. Thoughts?

[Cal C.]

For a first flip, I'd look for a better situation. If you decide to do it, I suggest you discount the price you can get on the house due to the neighbors. Also, I would contact the owners of the two offending properties and ask them to clean them up, whether they be banks or absentee owners. You might also want to check with the city to see if anything can be done to force the owners to remedy the situation.