HGTV’s Tarek El Moussa: The 2 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Flipping Houses
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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HGTV star Tarek El Moussa has successfully flipped over 1,000 properties and believes that the process of flipping is actually pretty simple.
“Honestly, flipping is not that difficult,” he said on “The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast.” “There’s four steps. Step one, you’ve got to find it. Step two, you’ve got to fund it. Step three, you’ve got to fix it. Step four, you’ve got to flip it.”
However, El Moussa acknowledged that you can make some very costly mistakes along the way. Here are the two most common mistakes he said flippers make.
They Pay More Than a Home Is Worth
If you don’t get a home for the right price, you can lose money on your flip.
“Mistake No. 1 — they need to learn what to pay for these houses,” El Moussa said.
That involves analyzing the property based on a number of factors, including how much comparable homes cost and how much you will need to invest in the renovation.
They Choose the Wrong Contractor
Contractor costs can add a lot to the bottom line, especially if you don’t choose wisely.
“The second [mistake] is they choose the wrong contractors, and that is the biggest mistake behind paying too much for the house, because if you have the wrong team in place, a house that should take you eight weeks is going to take you eight months,” El Moussa said.
Finding the right contractor involves doing extensive research.
“You don’t call a custom builder, you don’t call the kitchen and bathroom guy,” El Moussa said. “You want to find out, who is the contractor that’s been working in this market for 10 years and has worked on 1,000 flips?”
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