Flipping realistic still ?

Hi Jim,

I the last few years buying a property to develop and sell is where I have seen the most money made by readers and I think this will only become more popular with the removal of tax release on long term investments.

There have been quite a few new lenders in the market to support this with specialist bridging and refurb products such as Shawbrook to fill the gap left by the high street.

Just remember it nearly always costs more than you plan for so keep a good cash reserve and your margins as high as possible.

Auctions are great for cash buyers, but are a lot more difficult if you need finance, because it has to be in place before a successful bid just to be safe.

I've found it very difficult buying properties to refurb and flip at auction. Most tend to go for market value less the refurb price (often more!), and are bought buy homeowners who've watched too many episodes of Homes Under the Hammer.

I've spoken to half a dozen local builders of 20+ years experience and they're all saying the same thing: prices at auctions are ridiculous at the moment and are no longer a place to buy properties to flip. One for example told me he's targeting properties with subsidence, as they're the only ones he can buy cheap enough.

I don't know that I'm helping but good luck, your mileage may vary.

Good afternoon,

You often need cash to play in this arena so if you're a mortgage buyer you'll need a lot of luck and the best contacts in the industry! Cash is king when you're dealing with people that need a completion within 10 days as you can imagine..

If you have time to do it yourself you need to commit hours of searching the internet such as rightmove every day and you will find a 'flipper' if you're quick to act as they are out there. They are the needles in the haystack!

If you're time poor and cash rich I'd recommend you a company a sourcing fee that charge £3-4k and have access to investment properties. Many of these are however more income focused..

Talk to an estate or letting agent (such as myself) that has access to off market opportunities as this allows you to secure a property without 100's of people bidding it up as Colin mentions.

To be completely honest, even trying to get form a relationship with an agent is very difficult as we / they already have many investors on their books. These investors have already proven that they can perform so they'll be the first call..

The last bit of advice I could offer is to widen the net. I.e. Don't stick to one village or town or even city.

Cherry Picked Properties - Manchester and Liverpool

Dan Sawyer