I've been mulling over the idea of focusing on flipping estate homes in my retirement . My thought is if you can find them with heirs that don't want to take the time or $ to prep them for sale then you might be able to find some discounts and close deals quickly. I know probate can cause some time consuming snags.

I'm just looking for thoughts, opinions, reading or other recommendations, warnings , etc with regard to this. I've found this board to be very forthcoming and practical wrt vetting ideas like this in the past.

You can do it, but just know there is plenty of competition. My mom died 4 years ago and my dad stayed in the house, but since I'm executor and people saw the property go thru probate, I got flooded with estate flippers asking if I was going to sell it. In fact, I got a text a few weeks ago even tho its been years

Thanks. That's not a surprise that there's a lot of
Competition . My plan is to do one at a time and only
Maybe do a few a yr. Just a little supplemental retirement income. Probably have to do a lot of egg breaking to make an omelette

I think the amount of competition depends allot on the area but I know in all the places we work there is tons of competition. To the point it is not uncommon when we go to look at a house we will have others come knock on the door (or sometimes just walk in) while we are there. All the competition drives up the prices making it much harder than in the past. My real advice is js 1) know your numbers. Don't get caught up in being afraid to be outbid for a house. You may have to offer on 10 before you get one but nothing is more important than what you pay for the house up front. Always remember your future buyers don't care what you paid for the house or how much you put in it only how it compares to the rest of the market. 2) figure at least 20% for unknowns when you tear into the house. 3) make sure you spend money wisely. For example buyers aren't usually going to pay more because you used 500 dollar fans vs 300 dollar fans. Spend money where it really adds value 4) you have to price it based on the market, not what you have in it.

Thanks ! That's good advice.

do you know anything about renovating houses? construction? etc

I represent a company that purchases a bunch of homes from such flippers. Basically they do a simultaneous close with us so they end up with no risk and minimal up front expenses. There are a lot of these flippers out there but can be profitable if you can find properties. Dealing with the estate and courts can cause delays and issues but typically nothing insurmountable. .

I'm no expert on it but I have done some of
My own work and contracted to others for
Some of it . I am getting pretty good at estimating renovation costs for knowns . It's the unknowns that worry me and there are generally at least a few .

Dealing with and closing out my mother's estate was actually the genesis of the idea. We did pretty well on the 60 yr old house. Spent $26k on fixing it and I believe it yielded an incremental $50k on the sale.

Looking hard at one right now. It's
Not an estate but it is a vacant house full of stuff and repairs that the somewhat remote owner does not want to deal with. I think the owner simply doesn't have the $ .

Greatly Appreciate all the comments and advice here. Has been helpful .

I'm not really looking for making any big $ here. Just something to keep me and my realtor wife busy after I retire and make enough to push off claiming Social
Security for maybe 3-4 yrs

Any chance you remember what his business was called? I'd like to look that up, I'm interested in that biz model.

Thanks!

Sorry, I do not. Was quite a while ago.

If I were in your shoes I would get hooked up with a responsive Realtor that had a taste for such type houses to locate & then dispose of them. Knowing teh market demand specifics, they may be able to advise on # or bedrooms, interior styles that currently sell, etc.

Lawsuits come mostly from foundations and on new houses you are open to these from 10 years in Texas in-the-day. Something to research for your goals & house types. Although a top residential architect may serve to guide, this may mean high-dollar structural engineers may be in those future costs.

Suppliers may be easier to get than subs since these will be onesy-twosies so keep your eye out for top guys wanting to pare down their work loads but know the CODE and how-tos.

From what I've seen in Brazos Co, there's a lot of profit in such a venture ... people are too busy to fix-m-up and just want to move into shiny houses ready-to-go with a bllind eye to quality.