The "F-Word"

We've all heard it. Some of us have uttered it in flagrant moments. And regardless how we've invoked this word (or not), every one of us recognizes that there is a dirty, sleazy, undertone to it.

Not only are we using the word, but many of us are doing "it", too. It may be dirty. It could be inappropriate for discussion in polite company. It feels a bit like we're doing something sneaky, but at the same time, when we do it right, it feels SOOOO good!

That's right. I'm talking about "Flipping." So, why, then, are many of us dancing around the truth? Every successful real estate investor these days is flipping.

Here are my thoughts. Ten years ago, when the real estate market was so hot you had to wear oven mitts to be an investor, flipping became the new day-trading. Seriously. And, many"investors," frankly, never pput a dime into the properties they flipped because they only held them long enough to re-list them and close escrow. Really?

No wonder flipping became a bad word. Each iteration of 'flip' distanced the new owner from having any knowledge of the property, and thus lessened the likelihood that hidden issues would be disclosed to unsuspecting buyers.

While all of this sort of activity came to a crashing halt as this 'new economy' (as I like to refer to it) imposed limitations on flipping opportunities, still, the stigma of the concept of flipping properties remains.

In today's market, flipping, as it once was done, is simply not an option. Jeff and I like to refer to it as "Rehabbing" and to ourselves as "Residential Rehabilitation Experts." Truly, we are just that.

Think of it: we take an abandoned REO property in a neighborhood that is slowly reviving itself, and we go in and start at the sidewalk and work inwards until the entire property looks like a Martha Stewart magazine shot. We are not flipping. We have breathed new life into a home on a city block, where it was most needed.
~ Posted by NH