Tarek’s No. 1 Most Important Lesson in Flipping Houses

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Tarek’s No. 1 Most Important Lesson in Flipping Houses

May 28, 2015

By Tarek El Moussa

“Tarek, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about successful house flipping?” I get this question a lot, especially when Christina and I are conducting one of our real estate investing coaching seminars. Well, the #1 lesson I’ve learned in house flipping is actually pretty simple, and it applies across the board, from searching for leads and reaching out to motivated sellers to the whole rehab and reselling process.

If you learn nothing else from Christina or me on our show, in our blog, or in our seminars, learn this: be persistent and consistent. Now, that probably sounds a little too simplistic, so let’s apply it to a few different aspects of house flipping.

Finding Your Very First Flip

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the hardest part is getting started. Finding our first house to flip was probably the hardest thing that Christina and I have done throughout our entire career as house flippers.

If you watch the show, you know that’s saying a lot. We’ve had to corral live animals. We’ve walked into flips where every single window was smashed. We’ve had to demolish entire houses and start over. But finding that first flip was really the hardest thing we’ve done.

Why? When you commit to finding your first house to flip, you’re committing to a whole new career and to making good on an investment. You’re committing to finding a house to invest in, even if the market isn’t stellar. It’s scary, and it’s slow going at first. It’s easy to quit and go back to your 9-5, but if you’re persistent and apply consistent work, with a little bit of faith and time, you’ll find that flip. Then you’ll find your next and your next after that.

When Your Flip Needs a Lot More Work Than You Bargained For

If you continue house flipping, this is going to happen to you. It’s happened to Christina and me, and it happens to all house flippers. You find a great property, and you get an amazing deal on it. Then you walk in and find it needs a lot more work than you had imagined. You’ve already paid for it, so you can’t back out. What can you do?

Well, you can’t give up, and you can’t go home. You have to get your inspector, appraiser, and contractor out to give you a good estimate of the damage, how much it’ll cost you, and how much you can hope to get for the house after repairs.

From here you’ll have the option to demolish it and start over, to try to sell it to someone else as is, or to go for it. With persistence and consistency, you can break down all the jobs that need to be done on the house and determine what you can do yourself, what you need a contractor for, and if it’s all worth the effort.

I’ve walked into a lot of houses that I thought were going to be complete flops only to find out that we actually had it in our power to get everything done on budget and make a profit when we put them back on the market.

The more persistent and consistent you are with your work in the house flipping business, the more you’ll be rewarded. That’s really it: Tarek’s #1 lesson on house flipping. For more lessons to help you succeed, sign up for one of our real estate investing coaching seminars. You’ll get all of our secrets for making the magic happen!

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Tarek El Moussa

Tarek and Christina El Moussa have over a decade of professional real estate experience and have been featured in national print publications, online media outlets, and a popular real estate TV show. Tarek is known for his determination to get the job done and doing it right.