Finding Buyers Who Flip Houses
Recent shows on television have gotten people interested in “flipping” houses. This is, of course, where the person buys a house in need of repair, fixes it up, and resells it for a quick profit. These shows make it look exciting and profitable and, consequently, many people want to give it a try. This is where you come in.
You know the market. You’ve been in many, many houses for sale. You’ve kept this type of buyer in mind while touring the local inventory and digging around in your MLS and you’ve identified a number of potential flips. Now it’s time to find the people looking to buy.
Most advertisers make the mistake of talking about themselves. “Look what I’ve done.” “Look how smart I am.” “Look at all my awards.” Nobody cares about what you’ve done, how smart you are, or how many awards you have. The only thing they care about is what you can do for them. This could be a perfect advertising opportunity to really show you care about their needs and wants and are the perfect person to help them achieve their goals.
Direct your marketing to the places these buyers will look for houses to work. Newspaper classifieds are one place you might try since inexpensive and “in need of TLC” houses are often listed here. If you have a website (you should), you will want to prominently display this as one of your specialties. Be sure to include, or have the person who updates your website include, Meta tags for house flipping. These allow the search engines to identify your website when someone types in a particular set of key words.
Of course, you can’t recommend what house they should buy to make the most profit. There are far too many variables involved to even make a guess. You can, however, identify houses that might qualify. Look for houses in less than perfect condition to downright dogs. They should all be listed for considerably less than other similarly sized and located properties.
Many of these buyers are not looking to get into major renovation. They are looking for that under-priced, diamond-in-the-rough they can slap a coat of paint on and sell for a profit. Learn to notice the things experienced flippers look for. Hardwood floors in good condition but hidden by carpet, non-load bearing walls that can be easily removed to open up a closed floor plan, solid mechanical systems, and desirable locations are all things that make these houses attractive to the right buyer.
One thing you want to be especially mindful of is major structural problems. Most people will not, and should not, touch these. But, there are buyers out there with the knowledge and the resources to flip these types of properties as well, which often can be had for bargain-basement prices. These types of properties should be left to persons that know exactly what they are doing.
Once you have a list of houses and an interested buyer, encourage them to work with an inspector that understands exactly what they are trying to do, especially if this is their first such endeavor. You might also prepare an information pack for them that includes a list of inspectors, local building material suppliers, city or county office information for building permits, tool rentals, licensed electricians, plumbers, etc. More experienced flippers will already know the people they want to work with.
Finally, one thing to keep in mind is you want your buyer to do as well as they do. And, if they know you worked hard to find them the right property they made money on, why would they want to go to another agent for the next one?
