The Secret to Flipping Houses with No Money

If you’re like many Americans, you’ve probably heard about house flipping and are wanting to get into it yourself. With a Real Estate market worth $31.8 trillion, who wouldn’t? The only problem is, you don’t have all this money to throw at a house. What many don’t know is that it’s very doable to start flipping houses with no money.

No, that wasn’t a typo. It really is possible to flip houses without having to invest your own money. We are going to dive into exactly how you can do this, and furthermore, why you should.

Real Estate investing is of the fastest and simplest ways to grow long-time wealth. There’s no better time to get started than now. Fast and easy doesn’t mean that hard work isn’t involved, though. With hard work comes real and remarkable results. To find out how you can start flipping houses with no money, read on!

What Does it Take to Flip a House?

While flipping a house can seem relatively easy, there is a lot more that goes into it than you would expect. Most all of what it takes to flip a house is simple, but there are many things that you need to get a grasp on before you start, especially if you’re going to be doing it with no or little money down.

Here are a few things you’ll want to have before you make your first deal:

A Knowledge of Your Target Housing Market

Before you start going out and trying to find the perfect house to flip, you need to do some research about the market in your local area. This includes finding out what houses generally go for in the area, what neighborhoods are hot, and what style of home is popular in the area.

The types of houses that are popular in the Breckenridge real estate market may be different than the Seattle market. You need to find out what’s popular where you’re trying to go.

A Good Understanding of Style

A huge part of successfully flipping houses with no money is creating a look in a house that will draw buyers in. You’re taking a house that was run-down, beat up, or poorly maintained and turning it into something amazing that people will want to pay money to live in.

What Kind of Repairs to Do

When flipping a house with no money, you’re going to need to determine which types of repairs are the most valuable to the resale of the house. Since you likely will be doing some of the work yourself, it’s a good idea to read up on some DIY home repairs that make a difference in value.

How to Estimate Rehab Costs

Just because you can flip a house without using your money doesn’t mean that there isn’t any money involved. It’s a good idea to start looking into how to estimate costs and budgets for repairs. This will help you when you are finding the money you’ll use for the flip.

The biggest and most important thing you need to have before you start flipping houses is a determination to do it. It’s not the kind of thing that you can just jump into and give up on halfway through. You need to know that you’re going to stick it out till the end before you even start to ensure your success.

How to Start Flipping Houses With No Money

Now that you know a few things about what it takes to flip a house, it’s time to start figuring out how to pay for it. Like I mentioned before, you won’t be using any of your own money, but you will be using someone’s money. This is often referred to as OPM or Other People’s Money.

Most successful Real Estate investors make money off of Real Estate by having other people pay for their endeavors. Now, you may be wondering, “who on earth is going to pay me money to flip a house?”

Believe it or not, there are plenty of ways to have other people pay for your investment. Here are just a few:

Hard Money Lenders

HMLs are great for someone who is flipping houses with no money when that person knows they will be able to fix and flip quickly. A hard money lender is someone who will lend you the money (with or without a good credit score) and will charge a larger interest rate. They will usually also charge some sort of percentage of the cost as well, depending on the lender.

The reason it’s important to be able to repay the money quickly is that of the high-interest rates. These rack up really fast and will be a burden on your final profit if you end up holding for too long.

If you find a property that you know you can rehab and resell within 3-4 months or less, then a hard money lender may be the right option for you.

Partner/Investor

Another great way to start flipping houses with no money is to find a partner or investor who has the funds to buy and fix the property. A lot of times, you can find someone out there that has the money to invest but doesn’t have the time for the grunt work. That’s where you come in.

You can make a deal with an investor/partner and have them purchase and finance the fix, while you do the labor and share the profits with them. You can find partners all over the place like:

• Your local Real Estate Investor Association
• BiggerPockets forums
• Friends and family

Once you find a partner, you can start flipping houses with no money.

Private Money Lenders

Like hard money lenders, private money lenders take the place of a bank and finance your flip. While these types of lenders aren’t always readily available, a lot of times you can find someone who will help make your flipping dreams become reality.

A private money lender is anyone who you know personally, like a friend, family member, or colleague who is willing to lend you the money. Often times you can receive these loans with low interest but may be asked to pay back a “point” or percentage of the final sale. Finding a private money lender may not be as hard as you think, you just have to try.

Now Get Out There and Start Flipping

All of this is possible for anyone out there, all you have to do is try. Sitting back and wondering if you can afford it, or doubting that Real Estate investing will ever work for you is only going to hold you back.

So get out there, and start flipping houses with no money. The only thing you need to do now is start.
To find more amazing tips and advice on everything and anything Real Estate, check out our blog!

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