Can You Make Money “Flipping” Homes in this Market?

Ever since the Loudoun/Northern Virginia real estate market turned in 2005, real estate investors have not really been able to make a lot of money “flipping” homes. In fact, many lost money. This is because prices were still declining and investors ended up not making a profit and even losing money on the deal.

But that has changed.

Pockets of Loudoun County and Northern Virginia have foreclosure/bank-owned properties that are selling for well below market value - even taking into consideration the amount of work necessary to rehab the property. Real estate investors are starting to buy them up, fix them and sell them for a profit - all in as little as 2 months.

Here are two real-life examples:

1) Fannie Mae owned town home - purchased for $160,000 (net) near end of 2008 - it needed about $30K worth of rehab (retail price - less if you have a “hook up” with a contractor or do the work yourself) - sold 6 months later for $242,500 (net). Taking into consideration cost of purchase and sale, you’re still clearing about $38K, an 18.6 percent return on your investment in 6 months.

2) Wells Fargo owned town home - purchased for $140,000 (net) in February 2009 - it needed about $40K worth of rehab (retail price) - sold in April 2009 for $244,800 (net). Taking into consideration cost of purchase and sale, you’re still clearing $52K, a 27 percent return on your investment in 2 months.

There are other opportunities like these out there - you just have to do your due diligence and find them. If you’re a real estate investor looking for other “flip” or rental investment opportunities such as these, I’d be happy to help. You can contact me here.

Real Estate Investors: How To Search For “Diamonds in the Rough”

If you're a real estate investor in the DC metro area including Loudoun County, you're most likely looking for the "diamonds in the rough" in the local area that will provide you with the greatest future return on your investment. Well, thanks to FranklyMLS.com and Jeff Royce, author of Our Fairfax, there is a good tool available to real estate investors looking for potential "diamonds in the rough" and a video tutorial on how to go about using it.

In a nutshell, it works by comparing the asking price to the assessed value of properties for sale. The greater the difference between the two, the more chance there is of the property being a great deal and investment.

You can narrow down your search by the type of property, price range and geographic area all the way down to a specific subdivision by using keywords. You can also search for only REOs or short-sales or only one or neither.

To see how it works and how to do it, check out Jeff's video tutorial on his blog, "Our Fairfax".

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