How To Flip Houses With No Money
Can real estate investors really flip houses with no money down? If so, what’s the secret?
For years books, blogs and late night infomercials have promised you can make big money in real estate with no money down. Often even if you don’t have good credit either. Is is all just a sales pitch to separate you from the little money you do have? Or is it really possible?
No Money Down House Flipping
Buying, selling and flipping real estate without using your own money isn’t only possible, it is done every day. There are not only plenty of verified case studies of ‘rags to riches’ investors who got started with nothing and are now well into the millions, but it’s actually a strategy used by many of the most sophisticated investors as well.
You see, low and no money down real estate deals aren’t just about clawing your way to financial success. They are also smart business. Legendary billionaire investors like Warren Buffett and big funds often favor these deals, even though they have more than enough cash. One of the big benefits of this is lowering risk. It is a way to share risk with others, and minimize it. This is also a great way to speed up traction when getting started and racing to bigger financial goals, while helping others by allowing them to participate in the deals you are doing.
If you have very little or even no money of your own there are actually a variety of ways to do more real estate deals. Here are just some of them.
- Reverse Wholesaling
Reverse wholesaling is probably the easiest and surest way to flip houses with no money. With this technique you are in, out and paid in a few days. You take order requests from other property investors who need deals to rehab or add to their rental property portfolios. Then go find the deals. You don’t need your own cash to buy them because you can either simply flip your real estate contract to your buyer who has the money, or use 100% financing from a transactional lender to cover your purchase price and closing costs, and then resell it right away. You don’t need to do any repairs or clean up. Your end buyer will do that.
- Using Credit
It is still typically going to require some money to flip houses, no matter how you do it. It just doesn’t have to be your money. Maybe you don’t have an extra cent in cash to spare right now. Yet, there can be a variety of financing options. While it is important to be wise when using financial leverage and debt financing, you should be fine if you do your numbers well and know your market. One of these options is using your credit cards. Some properties are so cheap that you can put them on a credit card. Or maybe you just need the down payment, closing costs and some money to do some marketing or make some repairs. Other options include personal or home equity lines of credit, new mortgages, or a combination of all of these.
- Private Money Lenders
There is a growing number of private money lenders out there today. These are individuals who have the cash and want to invest in real estate. They just don’t have the time and expertise, or would rather be on the beach or golf course than swinging hammers. They can offer very attractive financing for house flips, and will often fund deals that regular banks and mortgage lenders won’t. They care about the deal, not your personal credit, income or personal assets.
- Equity Partners
If you don’t like borrowing or debt, then you can always find equity partners. They bring in the cash, and you do the work of finding, fixing and flipping the deals. Then you split the profits. It can be one or many partners. They can be close friends and family members or investors you meet at local real estate clubs, seminars or through online networking portals and crowdfunding platforms.
- Seller Financing & Sweat Equity
Even with horrible credit, and very little money you can find house deals to flip. More and more sellers are realizing that they need to offer owner financing due to the tight mortgage market. Many will take less down than it takes to move into a new rental. If you are willing to put in the work yourself to restore and improve properties, and are creative with finding tools and materials you may find flipping houses is far easier than you thought.