selling rehabed homes fast

[Charles Savidge]

what methods do you all use if you want to flip a house as fast as possible without killing your profit?

[Ryan Pyle]

I sell my houses for $75k, which means a $575 PITI at today's rates. These houses would rent for $625/mo, but the rentals would not be nearly as nice. I advertise my FOR SALE houses in the FOR RENT section of the paper. Something like: "4br, beautiful remodel, new kitchen, new bath, new windows, new roof. $575/mo. My phone #". When people call I tell them that "I've had lots of interest in the house and am now looking to help someone own it. I can get you in for as little as $500 down (first time homebuyers' grant from the city) and payments around $575 depending on income and credit." 50% of the people say no thanks, 50% say okay. I then ask them to tell me about their income and credit. (The banks I work with need minimum 580 FICO and 40% back end ratio). That eliminates another 25%. The remaining 25% have a shot at qualifying so I show them the house. Remember, they were calling on a rental and are expecting to see a typical rental. They walk into my new rehab and fall in love. They are usually calling my mortgage guy before they leave the house. Now, here's where you need a patient mortgage guy because we've easily gone through 40 showings to get a buyer before. It's usually more like 10 - 15.

This works...my average fix-and-flip in 2008 was 110 days from purchase to sale. My most recent sale was last week. I've never used the MLS to sell and I ANSWER EVERY SINGLE PHONE CALL and SHOW THE HOUSE IMMEDIATELY. Realtors and most investors I know don't do that. If you hustle, you'll get a good product sold.