How to Find a House to Flip

One of the most common questions new house flippers ask is 'How do you find a house to flip?'.  I wish the answer was simple, but unfortunately deals are getting harder to find in today's market.

With that said you can still find deals all over the country you just need to know to know the process and how to start.  In this post, I will discuss how you need to narrow down your property search to small segment of your market, set your property criteria, and briefly discuss techniques you can use to find deals in your market.

Pick the City or Market Your Want to Invest

Generally, the easiest place to start flipping houses is your own city or market where you currently live.

8 Catalysts for a Strong House Flipping Market

Narrow Down the Search to a Specific Area

Once you’ve picked the market, you need to narrow down your property search to a smaller, more manageable area, such as specific school districts or neighborhoods. Don’t try to search for property everywhere in a city, because you will quickly become overwhelmed. Narrow down your search to a small segment, become an expert on that area, & hit that area hard with your property searches.

Create a Farm Area

Think of your market segment as raw farm land.  You want to identify the best pieces of land to plant your crops and grow your business. With flipping, the farm land is the neighborhoods and the crops are the houses where you will be focusing your time, marketing & investment dollars. You want to focus on specific school districts & neighborhoods that you can nurture and grow your house flipping business.

Set Your Buying Criteria

Once you’ve narrowed down your market, you need to set your buying criteria on the type of property you want to purchase.

1. # of Beds, Baths, Square Footage - What is the minimum / maximum # of Beds, Baths or SF that your target buyers are looking for? What neighborhoods have homes that meet the bed, bath, sf criteria?
2. Purchase Amount - How much can you afford to pay to purchase a property? What neighborhoods have homes for sale that you can afford?
3. Repairs - How big of a rehab project can you take on? Will you focus on cosmetic rehabs, or will your niche be gut rehabs or additions? What neighborhoods have older homes that need rehab work?
4. Resale Value - What is targeted resale value that you want to resell your rehabs for after repairs? What neighborhoods have homes with resale values that meet your criteria?

Start Farming the Market for Deals

‍Now that you know where and what type of property you are looking for you can start ‘farming’ your market for deals. There are many different techniques for finding deals in an area, but here’s a few:

1. MLS (Multiple Listing Service)
2. Driving for Dollars
3. REIG (Real Estate Investing Groups)
4. Agents
5. Wholesalers
6. Auctions
7. Direct Mail Campaigns
8. Website / Lead-Generation Funnel / Online Marketing

Here’s some more information on How to Find House Flipping Deals