House Flipping Program

Popular House Flipping Programs

Flip This House

If you want to know how this type of real estate business works, try watching a program dedicated to the subject. Flip This House on the A&E network shows viewers how difficult it can be to run a house flipping business. The show typically follows this format:

• Scout out a neighborhood for a prospective home, taking into consideration neighborhood home values
• Make a bid on a home or try to buy a home that isn't for sale
• Gut the house in order to prepare it for an extreme makeover
• Hire contractors and hope they show up to do the work
• Paint the home or add vinyl siding and trim
• Hold an open house and hope for the best
• Sell the home for a big profit or simply break even

This show is centered on a real house flipping business, Trademark Properties, owned by Richard C. Davis, in South Carolina. The rest of the team includes Ginger Alexander, Kevin Maloney, Dawn Nosal and Vance Sudano. All of these individuals work together to flip homes that they can then sell for a nice profit.

If you like a fast-paced show steeped in reality, Flip This House is the show for you. The first season has some really great episodes, such as the night the owners of Trademark Properties staked out one of their houses under reconstruction in order to catch people stealing building materials.

This Old House

The granddaddy of all new house flipping programs, This Old House is a program dedicated to teaching people how to renovate older homes. While the premise of this program isn't to teach people how to flip houses, it has practical applications that all prospective renovators can use.

The format of This Old House varies, since the crew of the program travels around the United States searching for homes that can be renovated and brought back to a semblance of their former glory. Usually a homeowner contacts This Old House to ask questions about how to renovate a home. The crew will demonstrate how a home can be renovated, and will discuss the costs and associated problems that can arise.

If you ever considered buying and selling a house for a profit, watch a few episodes of This Old House first to see if you have the stamina and building knowledge necessary to undertake a huge housing project, as most house flipping projects are.

Home Again

Once again, Bob Vila makes an appearance in a home renovation program. Whether a homeowner is rebuilding a home or starting from the ground up, this show follows individuals trying to create a home of their dreams. This show isn't a traditional house flipping program, but it gives insight into how contractors and subcontractors can affect a profit margin. It also shows how difficult it can be to pull a project off if aspects such as weather, mortgage problems, or workers cause a project to go off track.

House Flipping Pitfalls

Many people think that flipping homes is a great way to make easy money. Unfortunately, many people end up losing money and going into debt. Consider these points carefully before starting a house flipping business of your own:

• Do you have money to invest that you can afford to lose?
• Do you have the know-how to finish construction projects if your workers fail?
• Are you willing to await an inspection from a competent appraiser before buying the house?
• Do you have the money to make a mortgage payment if the house can't be flipped on time?
• Are you knowledgeable about local zoning and construction permits? Not knowing the ins and outs of local laws can cost you big while also slowing down any house flipping project to a slow crawl.

Before jumping into this business it makes sense to educate yourself about tthe ins and outs of flipping houses. Watching house flipping programs or home renovation programs on cable television are one way to see how this business works. It may also benefit you to speak with someone at the Small Business Administration. Individuals from the SBA who work in the real estate, construction or home inspection business can share valuable advice about working in the housing market. This information can help you determine if you want to spend your hard earned cash flipping houses.