Buying and flipping?

[panther4life]

Anyone do this often? I recently unloaded some unwanted and older things I replaced with newer stuff such a as a lawnmower, kitchen table and other various pieces of furniture. Sold everything relatively quickly and for a good price on Facebook marketplace, so I went to a couple local thrift shops and bought some furniture and flipped it already. Just thinking of doing this in my spare time. 

Any pro or part time flippers have any success stories or specific items you find that are easy sells?

[LinvilleGorge]

Sounds like it's working for you, so go for it. It wouldn't work around here. I see very nice stuff going for free or damn near for free. People with lots of disposable income just want stuff gone and out of their way, they don't really care about the money.

[hepcat]

Had a buddy years ago who bought a $500 old chevy truck on craigslist. All he did was drive that thing around picking up free furniture, non-working appliances, and stuff like that, and made a living doing it. He owns his own electronics repair shop now.

[thefuzz]

Unless you really enjoy doing it, I can't imagine the money per hour would be enough to justify that much of my time.

 

Probably be better spent reading books on economics, investing, etc....but if you enjoy it, who cares?

[panther4life]

2 hours ago, thefuzz said:

Unless you really enjoy doing it, I can't imagine the money per hour would be enough to justify that much of my time.

 

Probably be better spent reading books on economics, investing, etc....but if you enjoy it, who cares?

I enjoy all low effort side hustles. In terms of of time spent acquiring the stuff and getting it back home that was about 1.5 hours. The fielding numerous “is this still available” inquiries is getting old lol. So far I bought 4 dining chairs for $28 and sold for $60. Also bought a glass dining table with 4 chairs for $25 and sold for $75.

This looks like it will be a boredom time killer hobby for me to make extra money.

[thefuzz]

38 minutes ago, panther4life said:

I enjoy all low effort side hustles. In terms of of time spent acquiring the stuff and getting it back home that was about 1.5 hours. The fielding numerous “is this still available” inquiries is getting old lol. So far I bought 4 dining chairs for $28 and sold for $60. Also bought a glass dining table with 4 chairs for $25 and sold for $75.

This looks like it will be a boredom time killer hobby for me to make extra money.

Gotcha.  Yea, a nice little way to make some extra change.

I just don't have enough time to do that stuff, although I would really like it with boats, boat motors, boating accessories, etc...same with small engine stuff like weed eaters and lawnmowers.  At the end of the day though, I just end up back working on stuff for my real job.

A guy once asked me to breakdown my per hour income at my regular job, then break down how many hours it would take for me to wash my car, and take care of my lawn, and see if it made sense to spend half a day doing yard work and washing my car.

It did not make sense, even though it was something that I somewhat enjoyed doing. 

[panther4life]

52 minutes ago, thefuzz said:

Gotcha.  Yea, a nice little way to make some extra change.

I just don't have enough time to do that stuff, although I would really like it with boats, boat motors, boating accessories, etc...same with small engine stuff like weed eaters and lawnmowers.  At the end of the day though, I just end up back working on stuff for my real job.

A guy once asked me to breakdown my per hour income at my regular job, then break down how many hours it would take for me to wash my car, and take care of my lawn, and see if it made sense to spend half a day doing yard work and washing my car.

It did not make sense, even though it was something that I somewhat enjoyed doing. 

When I worked as a sales manager I used the same time is money close quite often when explaining to someone trying to find a car for a couple hundred less wasn’t a good use of there time. 

Now I’ve quit the car biz completely and drive Uber full time. So I have the time and desire to make money with these side hustles. I’ve taken a reduction in income but have gained so much time, flexibility in schedule, no more weekends, no more bosses, no more stress (aside from replacing the 6 figure income) and I couldn’t be happier. For over a decade I rarely had the granted time off to go on any decent vacations. Since I quit I’ve been to Hilton head, Charleston, NYC, Asheville and Myrtle twice in less than 1 year. Also have a trip planned to Mexico at an all inclusive resort.

[Lumps]

19 hours ago, panther4life said:

Anyone do this often? I recently unloaded some unwanted and older things I replaced with newer stuff such a as a lawnmower, kitchen table and other various pieces of furniture. Sold everything relatively quickly and for a good price on Facebook marketplace, so I went to a couple local thrift shops and bought some furniture and flipped it already. Just thinking of doing this in my spare time. 

Any pro or part time flippers have any success stories or specific items you find that are easy sells?

It’s not that easy. You’re dealing with contractors and loans which are both highly dependent on very strict timelines. Someone not showing up or redoing and job will cost a lot of money and time. At some point you’re in over your head and it will cost you money.

People who have success flipping are very experienced, have good trust with a bank and almost importantly have specific contractors they know and trust to get the job done and done right.

Even then, staying on top of everyone and everything and the paperwork is going to take a lot of time.

People who look at this as hobby or time killer will fail. This is for those will the structure and connections already in place and even with a couple successes you’ll come across a project that’ll take it all away.

Lastly, knowledge and education is very important. Everything from building laws, structure laws, banking methods to home remodeling and decoration to real estate. Then when you’re confident you still need structure and connections.

I am not trying to discourage you. 

If I were to go this route I’d look into renting. Buy a nice townhome in a up and coming area with a solid HOA for 200k. Rent it out without profit (just charge mortgage) to ensure tenants. Wait 5 years, now not only can you sell it for 225k but you’ll have 5 years of rent. Taking into account maintenance you can make 50-75k.

Sure it takes 5 years so not fast money like flipping but I did this one two townhomes. One, the example above, the other got for 134k sold for 175k plus 5 years rent. After 10 years. Pretty much own my first house at age 34.

I will say I had the cash up front so no loan fees and bought them cheaper because of it but I’m thinking of doing it again with a loan.

 

[panther4life]

58 minutes ago, Lumps said:

It’s not that easy. You’re dealing with contractors and loans which are both highly dependent on very strict timelines. Someone not showing up or redoing and job will cost a lot of money and time. At some point you’re in over your head and it will cost you money.

People who have success flipping are very experienced, have good trust with a bank and almost importantly have specific contractors they know and trust to get the job done and done right.

Even then, staying on top of everyone and everything and the paperwork is going to take a lot of time.

People who look at this as hobby or time killer will fail. This is for those will the structure and connections already in place and even with a couple successes you’ll come across a project that’ll take it all away.

Lastly, knowledge and education is very important. Everything from building laws, structure laws, banking methods to home remodeling and decoration to real estate. Then when you’re confident you still need structure and connections.

I am not trying to discourage you. 

If I were to go this route I’d look into renting. Buy a nice townhome in a up and coming area with a solid HOA for 200k. Rent it out without profit (just charge mortgage) to ensure tenants. Wait 5 years, now not only can you sell it for 225k but you’ll have 5 years of rent. Taking into account maintenance you can make 50-75k.

Sure it takes 5 years so not fast money like flipping but I did this one two townhomes. One, the example above, the other got for 134k sold for 175k plus 5 years rent. After 10 years. Pretty much own my first house at age 34.

I will say I had the cash up front so no loan fees and bought them cheaper because of it but I’m thinking of doing it again with a loan.

 

I’m talking about furniture from good will not houses lol.

[thefuzz]

15 hours ago, Lumps said:

It’s not that easy. You’re dealing with contractors and loans which are both highly dependent on very strict timelines. Someone not showing up or redoing and job will cost a lot of money and time. At some point you’re in over your head and it will cost you money.

People who have success flipping are very experienced, have good trust with a bank and almost importantly have specific contractors they know and trust to get the job done and done right.

Even then, staying on top of everyone and everything and the paperwork is going to take a lot of time.

People who look at this as hobby or time killer will fail. This is for those will the structure and connections already in place and even with a couple successes you’ll come across a project that’ll take it all away.

Lastly, knowledge and education is very important. Everything from building laws, structure laws, banking methods to home remodeling and decoration to real estate. Then when you’re confident you still need structure and connections.

I am not trying to discourage you. 

If I were to go this route I’d look into renting. Buy a nice townhome in a up and coming area with a solid HOA for 200k. Rent it out without profit (just charge mortgage) to ensure tenants. Wait 5 years, now not only can you sell it for 225k but you’ll have 5 years of rent. Taking into account maintenance you can make 50-75k.

Sure it takes 5 years so not fast money like flipping but I did this one two townhomes. One, the example above, the other got for 134k sold for 175k plus 5 years rent. After 10 years. Pretty much own my first house at age 34.

I will say I had the cash up front so no loan fees and bought them cheaper because of it but I’m thinking of doing it again with a loan.

 

Ha, this is all true, and in the wrong thread.

You are correct though, flipping homes is no easy task, many watch a season of "X" show on HGTV, run out and get the RE license, and fall flat on their faces.  Most folks honestly have no clue about real estate, but everyone thinks they do because of said channel and they bought a townhome 11 years ago.

Makes me chuckle daily.

[Bronn]

14 hours ago, panther4life said:

I’m talking about furniture from good will not houses lol.

I was about to say the same thing.

My MIL did this full time when they lived down in Texas. She mostly did it for the fun, but I think she made enough to contribute to the household and call it a job. She had her own storefront on their property where she would work on things and take pics, and have people come out to browse/buy.

I've thought about it myself, as I like to do crafty things. I just don't have enough time.

You can make a good living in it, I think. Especially if you have the time to dedicate to it full time. There's always people looking for certain styles (shabby chic for instance) so know your market.

Watch the free section on Craigslist. Go to yard sales every weekend. Maybe even check flea markets.

You can even design your own furniture and buy new wood to build it, and make good money.

The biggest issue with it, I think, is that it is a more local market. I wouldn't want to deal with shipping things out that were large.

I'd look into my own storefront once you build an inventory, even if it is a storage space or shed that you're working out of.

[panther4life]

1 hour ago, Bronn said:

I was about to say the same thing.

My MIL did this full time when they lived down in Texas. She mostly did it for the fun, but I think she made enough to contribute to the household and call it a job. She had her own storefront on their property where she would work on things and take pics, and have people come out to browse/buy.

I've thought about it myself, as I like to do crafty things. I just don't have enough time.

You can make a good living in it, I think. Especially if you have the time to dedicate to it full time. There's always people looking for certain styles (shabby chic for instance) so know your market.

Watch the free section on Craigslist. Go to yard sales every weekend. Maybe even check flea markets.

You can even design your own furniture and buy new wood to build it, and make good money.

The biggest issue with it, I think, is that it is a more local market. I wouldn't want to deal with shipping things out that were large.

I'd look into my own storefront once you build an inventory, even if it is a storage space or shed that you're working out of.

The joy of this hobby is dying fast lol. The answering yes to people who ask if it’s still available and then disappear 30 times a day and others who ask multiple questions, swear they want it and also disappear is taking much of the joy out of it. I’m just taking a summer off away from reality with this and the Uber driving. But soon I’ll be back to the real world. 

[Happy Panther]

We will sometimes just give away stuff if people will come and pick it up. Even then it can be pulling teeth to get rid of it. I can't imagine the garbage people deal with when they are getting actual money.

[thefuzz]

1 hour ago, Happy Panther said:

We will sometimes just give away stuff if people will come and pick it up. Even then it can be pulling teeth to get rid of it. I can't imagine the garbage people deal with when they are getting actual money.

We joke that if you really need to get something gone put it in the front yard and put a $20 tag on it...be gone in the morning when you wake up.