can you still make a profit in flipping houses if you hire a contractor?

Answer 1

Yes you can but deals are not as plentiful as they once were.
The knowledge to do well is extensive and the market is not as easy as it once was. Prices are not climbing fast enough to cover many errors that can be made. Buying a property as is and making it market ready can have a huge amount of cash required if not extremely careful. Every few years a new investment twist comes and a few methods retire. Flipping houses is one of those methods close to retiring as there are too many trying to attempt fast cash and the market dynamics have changed. The lure of fast easy money has flooded most markets and the curve has been rounded. There will be a new cutting edge soon as banks will be flooding the market with inventory. They will have no choice and are currently sitting on inventory that they cannot release yet. If they did so now it would undermine their ability to keep others from defaulting. Wait out this emerging market. Prepare for 2008 when there will be a post election flood of distressed properties released. The current market is better for short term buy and hold cash flowing rentals.

Answer 2

It depends on what you are doing. Some houses can simply be painted and upgraded with new lighting and appliances- that you can do yourself. Anything else should be left to professionals.

You can have several (I would suggest 3) submit complete bids and lists of references (that you should definitely call) since you haven't used a contractor before. Just call residential contractors and tell them your timeframe and desired repairs and ask that they submit (in writing) a bid by a certain date and time and that you'd love to meet them in person and show them the potential job. You'll see on paper what each plans to do and for how much and can use that in the negotiation ("everything looks good, but XYZ Construction said they could paint the exterior for $1,000- what do you do differently that makes your bid for this same task $7,000?)

They CAN save you money by getting the job done quicker and BETTER than you can and often they get discounts on materials that you can't get on your own. There are endless horror stories out there (I even have my own in flipping), but if you are compatible with a contractor, they can become your greatest asset when you forge that partnership.

Answer 3

It all depends on the price you purchase it for. There are alot of expenses involved in purchasing a flip. I work with a few investors and they all use contractors however, they get estimates before the purchase to insure the numbers work out.

Answer 4

FLIPPING IS FOR FISHING..