Fixer Upper Homes - How To Find Them

Fix And Flip Course

How do you find those fixer upper homes to flip for a profit? Anyway you can. Here is a collection of ways that have worked for others.

1. Drive around and look for them. Fixer uppers don't have to have a "for sale" sign on them. If the yard is overgrown, the door is falling off the hinges, and the whole house needs new paint, someone can't care for the place, and may be willing to sell. Leave your card or find the owner's phone number. One big advantage of finding them this way is that you know you don't have a lot of other investors competing for the homes.

2. Read the newspaper classified ads. Of course everyone is doing this, but on the other hand, not everyone is looking for the same thing, and you may have ideas on how to make a house valuable that other's haven't thought of. Owners who are selling their own fixer upper homes may be advertising only here and on the sign in the yard, so don't skip this resource.

3. Look in old newspapers. Find ads for homes for sale by owner that aren't in the recent editions of the paper. Call to see if these are still for sale. Sellers who have given up advertising for a while may be frustrated and ready to lower that price. They also may have a fixer upper that is scaring potential buyers away, and that spells opportunity.

4. Get real estate agents working for you. Let several real estate agents know that you are looking for homes that need some work and might be bought cheap. If they know you are ready to write an offer (and so make a commission for them), they'll be watching for those properties to call you about. You might learn about houses before they get put in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) system in this way.

5. Talk to people. Tell people that you are looking for houses to fix up and sell. They may know of some that are available. Even if they don't, now they know where to send a friend who mentions that he wants to get rid of an old run-down house he inherited.

6. Browse the listings. You can look through the MLS listings in a real estate broker's office or online. Look for a local site that carries all the MLS properties, or go to realtor.com. Watch for homes that are priced unusually low. This is a possible sign that they need some work.

7. Look in real estate guides. Look for the obvious fixer upper clues in the advertising ("needs some TLC," or "could be beautiful"). Look too at unusually low-priced homes, since this may indicate that repairs are needed.

8. Call on rental ads. Landlords are often looking forward to being done with tenants. Call and ask about houses they have, and whether they might be interested in selling them. You can try calling on old ads in the paper too. If a landlord hasn't rented the place out for a month, he may be more inclined to sell. And if it's been a rental for years, it is probably a fixer upper.

9. Look at HUD homes. When HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) takes back foreclosed homes, they sell them through local real estate brokers. First they take offers from owner-occupant buyers, who are scared off by houses with problems. Then investors are able to make an offer. There is more on this on the page HUD House Foreclosures.

10. Advertise. You have probably seen the billboard signs that say "We buy ugly homes" if you live in a large city. You don't have to go that far (and spend that much), but it can help to have business cards to hand out. You might also want to regularly run an advertisement in a local newspaper. Keeping it regular means that when an owner is ready to sell, he'll remember to look in that paper for your phone number.

Steve

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Tips For Flipping A House | Fixer Upper Homes - Find Them