To start buying houses to flip, take these eight easy steps in the area in which you believe there is a good potential for your business:

1.  Look around the area. Check to see if you have a supply of houses to buy and sell.
2.  See if there is a demand for housing in the area. Young families need low-priced homes.
3.   Get estimates from HUD, FHA, and the VA on typical housing prices
4.  Check local papers on Sunday for bargain properties. Read every classified For Sale ad. You’ll almost certainly find bargains.
5. Visit potential bargains; see how much work they need.
6. Find a competent contractor who can help you with needed repairs.
7.  Bid on your first flip house, after you know how much profit you can make on it.
8.   Do your first flip job. Go on to more, using creative financing.

You can make money using creative financing in flipping. For best results, you should have some experience with home repairs. And you should not be afraid to pick up a hammer and start working!

But if you’re “all thumbs” - as some people are - don’t give up. Get an experienced house mechanic and arrange to have that person do the work. Offer an incentive - such as a share in the profit on the sale of the property. Then your repair work will be done while you do the financial planning!

Take Lenders Out of Foreclosure Properties

Closely related to flipping is the Foreclosure Specialist who takes lenders out of properties they don’t want to own. These properties are often called REO - Real Estate Owned. No lender wants REO properties on its books!

Why? Because a lender’s business is to accumulate money and then lend it out on safe loans to earn interest. The interest earnings are shared with the suppliers of money. Such suppliers are people who put their excess funds into savings accounts, bonds, and similar holdings.

No lender wants to own property! Every lender wants nothing more than to receive a check on the first of every month for the repayment of a mortgage loan the lender made. That’s “lender heaven.”

How to Be a Hero with Lenders

You can be a hero to any lender by:
•Agreeing to take repossessed homes off the lender’s hands.
•Relieving the lender of an intense problem, often at zero cash to you.
•Having all closing costs paid by the lender because they have an in-house legal staff and the work doesn’t cost them much.
•Flipping the property for a profit for yourself and making the lender happy because it no longer has REOs on its hands.

With zero cash down for REO properties you have the ultimate in creative financing. And – happily - many lenders will not even check your credit when you take over an REO property.

Why? The lender is so happy to get rid of the REO that a credit check is overlooked. So if you’re into fixing up houses and selling them, check out REOs. You’ll often find them listed in your Sunday paper real estate section.
You can, of course, work with a house mechanic and have that person do the fix-up. Then you share a small portion of the profit with your mechanic. This allows you to do the financial planning for your future purchases.

Work with the FDIC and VA for Flip Properties

Both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Veterans Administration (VA) may have properties for sale at excellent prices for flip investors. Thus:

•The FDIC has a searchable database of property currently for sale by type, state, city, value range, and other criteria. This list is updated weekly. FDIC properties can vary from single-family homes to some of the largest buildings available anywhere.
•Properties listed in the database are sold on an “as-is, where-is” basis, with all faults they may have. So you may be able to get bargains galore!
•Each listed property has a contact name and telephone number. The contact name will either be an individual from an FDIC office or an individual associated with the sale of the property. If a property information package (PIP) has been prepared on a property it can be obtained from the listed individual.
•Property listings are updated by the close of business each Monday. So you have an ongoing and steady supply of properties to study and consider.
•Seller financing may be available on some residential properties with a minimum purchase price of 5500,000 or those residential properties sold as affordable housing, and on all commercial and land properties, regardless of price.
•Go to the Internet site at http://www.fdic.gov/buying/owned/ index.html to find FDIC properties that might be excellent flip candidates for you.