You probably have seen the infomercials on late night TV claiming you can get rich quick with real estate.  You know the ones, claiming to talk sellers out of homes for next to nothing, buying with no money down and getting someone else to pay your closing costs.  While some of these methods may be the real deal, but most are simply scams.

The lines between real deals and scams get grayed by the recent shows airing:  TLC's Property Ladder, A&E's Flip this House and Discovery Channel's Flip that House.   In fact, Interesting Way to Forecast the Destruction of a Market showed how the shows may have forecasted the demise of the real estate market.  While the shows are not trying to sell you anything and typically show the good and bad sides, they air during the day, giving the shows instant credibility.

House flipping is not something that can be entered into without exhaustive planning and research.  While it can provide great returns quickly, it can easily destroy you financially.  You should always have a backup plan in case things do turn on you.

Remember that some flips will be a breeze, practically selling themselves for a profit before you even do much work to the property.  Others may take a lot of work and time.  Don't just focus on the inside or the outside, but do both as part of your preparation for sale.  It doesn't matter how good the inside looks if the buyer doesn't get out of the car.  Likewise, if you get the buyer in the door, don't make him want to run out either.

If you want to make a career out of flipping, take the good with the bad.  As with any other strategy, there will be times that everything goes well, and there will be times that everything seems to go poorly.  Perseverance and patience will be needed if you want to survive and be successful flipping homes.

Part 2 Smart Ideas Before You Start

Part 3 Getting Started