Is Flipping Time Here Again?

What a crazy thought!

How could anyone think of flipping in this horrible real estate market?

Well, in the past few weeks, two investors I work with have asked me to be on the lookout for possible houses to flip in the coming months. They are noticing something that I am noticing: There are some super-cheap houses being dumped on the market by lenders in neighborhoods where prices will never fall that low.

For example, in one neighborhood I watch closely -- where no home has sold in the last year for less than $925,000 -- one lender dumped a home on the market for around $650,000. It was promptly snatched up. The home was a cosmetic fixer.

There are others. If you buy one of these cheap homes and actually live in it for several years, buyers can walk into some serious equity even if the market continues to decline dramatically. Or you could try a flip. But in this market, flipping is a dangerous game.

In the flipping heydays, many people could overpay for a property, overpay for renovations and sell the property for less than it should sell for – and still make money. Nowdays, you can do everything right – and still lose money.

This is definitely not a flipper’s market. Just see what’s happened to the No. 1 celebrity flipper, Bravo TV’s Jeff Lewis.

But it can be done.